The publication today of figures showing the number of unfilled places in State-run secondary schools in the Dublin area provides a graphic illustration of some of the new realities in Irish education.
Many better-off parents are opting out of the State system and sending their children to private fee-paying schools and expensive grind schools.
On Saturday, this newspaper also published a list of the main feeder schools providing students for UCD, TCD and NUI Maynooth. The figures for the two Dublin colleges show they are securing an increasing number of pupils from private schools. At the other end of the spectrum, schools in some less privileged areas are sending few students to the university sector.
Taken together, the two trends show that the chasm between rich and poor in Irish education is widening. In the not too distant past, it was not unusual for students from all sorts of social backgrounds to be educated together. Many of the Christian Brothers schools in the Dublin area, for example, have a proud tradition of inclusive education where all social classes were catered for. But - on the basis of today's report - it would appear that things are changing. Increasingly, the better-off are drifting out of the State system and into private education. Enrolment figures at many well-regarded State schools are declining sharply. But places in private fee-paying schools remain at a premium.
Educationalists say that the abolition of college fees has helped to increase the trend. The better-off have pocketed this benefit and used the money to fund private second-level education. Many State-run schools now find themselves with better pupil/teacher ratios than their private counterparts but they cannot fill places. Some State-run schools are also suffering because of what one principal is reported as calling the "cherry-picking" of the most gifted students by fee-paying schools.
All of these trends create a policy dilemma for the Minister, Mr Dempsey, who has shown admirable resolve in trying to create greater educational equality. Last year, he acknowledged that the publication of the feeder school list by The Irish Times stiffened his resolve to tackle the fees issue. He was said to be dismayed at the fact that nine of the top 10 feeder schools for UCD and TCD are fee-paying.
With the re-introduction of fees now off the political agenda - and continuing pressure on the public finances- he appears to have few options available if he wants to address the inequality at the heart of a two-tiered education system. At a time of scarce resources, it may be that he should examine whether the €77 million spent by the State in support of private fee-paying schools can be justified. Yes, specific safeguards would have to be introduced for some schools teaching religious minorities. But should the State continue to buttress schools which already enjoy significant advantages? The Labour Party is said to be open-minded on the issue; will Mr Dempsey pick up the baton?