Vol. 431 No. 4
92 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the serious difficulty in Limerick where upwards of 160 pupils seeking entry to secondary schools for September 1993, have been refused a place in any school in Limerick; and the steps, if any, she is taking to rectify this position immediately in view of the distress it is causing to pupils and parents.
My Department's primary objective is to ensure that all the schools in a catchment area have between them adequate provision to meet the demand for post-primary places from pupils in that particular area. Intake policy is essentially a matter for each post-primary school management subject to the application of acceptable criteria.
I am aware that difficulties have arisen in relation to admission to post-primary schools in Limerick city.
I have met representatives of the parents concerned and I have assured them that no pupil will be left without a place in a second-level school next September. I arranged a fact-finding meeting which took place yesterday between officials of my Department and representatives of the Limerick Post-Primary Co-ordinating Committee to ascertain the extent and nature of the problem. The position is now being reviewed as a matter of urgency to establish the further necessary steps to ensure that these difficulties are resolved within the current school year.
