New figures show school enrolments rose by 9,799 across all primary and post-primary schools for the 2018/2019 school year.

The Department of Education says enrolments in total stand at 922,458.

There was also a 3.6% increase in children attending multi-denominational schools, while enrolments in Catholic schools increased by 0.4%

Total enrolments in primary schools rose to 559,569 in September, an increase of 4,318 or 0.8% on September 2017.

Enrolments in primary-level multi-denominational schools increased by 7.7%, while in Catholic schools said they increased by 0.4%.

Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 505,053 in September 2018, representing 90.3%of all pupils - down from 90.6% in 2017.

Source: Department of Education and Skills

Enrolments in primary level multi-denominational schools stood at 32,060, accounting for 5.7% of the total.

Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 16,514, representing 3.0% all pupils.

Other faiths made up 5,942 pupils, or 1.1%.

 Mainstream primary schools by ethos, 2009 - 2018 | Source: Department of Education and Skills

Post-primary

At post-primary level, total enrolments were at 362,889 in September - an increase of 5,481 pupils, or 1.5% on 2017.

Enrolment in multi-denominational schools increased here by 4,443 pupils, or 2.8%, while in Catholic schools enrolments went up by 758 pupils, or 0.4%.

Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 185,963 pupils in September 2018, followed by multi-denominational schools with 162,624 pupils.

There were 12,478 in Church of Ireland schools.

Source: Department of Education and Skills

Commenting on the data, Education Minister Joe McHugh said: "The numbers highlight the rise in the school-going population, with an increase at both primary and secondary level enrolments.

"They reflect the important changes taking place in the patronage of our schools, with more choice available to parents."

"These numbers provide essential data to enable the Department to plan and to implement the change processes underway to provide for greater diversity and choice in our education system."

The research also found that small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system in Ireland, with 708 schools having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year.

These schools accounted for 22.8% of all schools, yet represented just 4.4% of the total enrolments.