Moving house? Listen to Mary.

Education minister, Mary Hanafin, provoked a storm last week when she said “I really wish parents who are choosing to move house within term time would make arrangements for their children to be in a school at the beginning of the term”.

She dug herself in deeper by saying “parents moving house are more concerned with the colour scheme of their new bathroom than making provision for their children’s place in school”.

But she’s right! Okay, there is a census taken every five years and population and demographics are constantly monitored in the hope of predicting an area’s requirements in advance. But this is not an exact science and in recent years there have been population explosions in certain areas, such as Kildare, which could not have been envisaged.

When a family arrives in an area and finds the school cannot admit their child there are three entities to blame:

The local county council. Why do they give planning permission for new developments without spare school capacity in the area when the dogs on the street know the majority of tenants will be young families, now or in the near future? And why do they refuse planning for new schools? A typical example of this lack of common sense on behalf of a county council is Kill village.

The estate agents. Why are they allowed to advertise a development’s local amenities when these amenities, while they may be close, are not accessible? Is this not false advertising?

The family: Why do they not research the area first? Properly. Are they taken in by the glossy blurbs the agents give them?

My advice to people who intend moving is to ask questions first. Not just about schools.

• Is there a place for my little Johnny at the local school?

• At what time of the night is the Red Cow Roundabout “just a 10 minute drive”?

• At what time in the morning will I have to be at the station to be sure of getting a seat on the train?

• Does the local doctor/dentist have room on their books for another family?

• How many arms and or legs will the crèche charge for little Molly?

Bottom line: Mary’s right. Think before you leap.