Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education how many post-primary places have been allocated for the Irish-medium sector in each academic year since 2016.
Minister of Education: The number of places approved by my Department at Irish Medium (IM) post-primary schools in each academic year since 2016 is set out in the following table:
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
| 674 | 733 | 771 | 856 | 988 | 1100 | 1175 |
A further three post-primary schools have IM units. These schools have approved enrolment numbers to cover the admission of all children; there is no approved enrolment number specific to the IM unit in such schools.
The number of children enrolled in the IM units of these schools on school census day is set out in the following table:
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
| 355 | 371 | 404 | 428 | 492 | 517 |
ENDS
Your MLA 