Second-level education is becoming more socially divided. Increasingly, better-off parents are opting out of the State system, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor
The list of feeder schools for UCD and TCD published on these pages again underlines the dominance of the private fee-paying schools and grinds schools.
The State's biggest grind school, the Institute of Education on Dublin's Leeson Street, is the largest provider of students to both of these colleges. It is also the largest provider of students for NUI Maynooth and DCU.
Fee-paying schools dominate the Top 25 lists also published on these pages. Some State schools - the likes of Muckross in Donnybrook, Dublin and Portmarnock Community school - buck the trend. Otherwise, the lists are dominated by venerable fee-paying schools in Dublin - Blackrock, Gonzaga, Mount Anville, Belvedere and the rest.
Admission to all of these schools is now highly coveted. Some are dealing with admissions for 2015.
The grinds schools are also flourishing. The Institute of Education recently acquired its main rival in Dublin, Bruce College, in a multi-million euro deal. Admissions at the Institute are now at record levels. It is estimated that up to 850 pupils could sit the Leaving Cert there next year.
While these schools are thriving, the State sector appears to be in decline. Schools that were once seen as the powerhouses of Irish education - the likes of O'Connell's, Synge Street and Brunswick Street - are struggling to attract students.
According to Department of Education estimates, there are over 20,000 vacant places in free second-level schools in Dublin. Traditionally, in these schools rich and poor were educated under the one roof.
But the boom of the past decade has changed this. For many better-off parents, fees of €4000 per year are relatively small beer for private education - especially when they can look forward to a free fees structure at third level.
One principal of an inner-city school was very candid. "We operate an inclusive admissions policy in our school. But better -off parents don't want to know. They prefer to cocoon their kids in private education. A form of educational apartheid is at work".
In truth, the publication of these tables could exacerbate a trend which is already under way. If parents want to associate good education solely with university admission, they will be drawn towards private education.
The Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, does not like what he calls these "crude" tables which make no allowance for the social hinterland of the school.
However, he is also planning to amend the total ban on school league tables enacted in 1999. This, he believes, was excessive and has led to an information vacuum.
Mr Dempsey is examining a new "league table" model which would reflect the academic performance of the school but also provide a much wider picture of the school, its links with local business and the local community, its extra-curricular activities, its social background and so on.
The lists published this morning present an incomplete picture .
But they still provide valuable information for parents.
For any parent, deciding on a second-level school for their children is one of the key decisions. They want to believe that the school of their choice will allow their children to fulfil their academic, social and sporting potential.
These lists provide some information on the academic performance of schools - and half a loaf is better than no bread.
And what is the alternative to these tables?
When he moved to ban their publication five years ago, the former education minister, Mr Martin, said parents could get all the information they need from their local principal.
The reality, as may parents have found, is very different. There remains what Mr Dempsey calls an information vacuum at the heart of the system.