Vol. 464 No. 4
90 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools, in terms of enrolment quota, in a position to discriminate at entry against children not of the religious faith of that school; and the way in which a reduction in pupil/teacher ratios might be expected to impact on the number of such schools. [8297/96]
I regret that it is not possible to provide figures on the details sought by the Deputy.
Primary schools with adequate resources, both teaching and accommodation, generally admit all pupils who seek entry. Accordingly, most parents are able to have their children enrolled in the school of their first choice.
The managerial authorities of schools not in a position to admit all pupils seeking entry normally implement an enrolment policy. Local circumstances may be such that, from time to time, the board of management of a particular school may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion.
The majority of Irish primary schools are denominational in their governance, structure and operation.
In this context, the White Paper, Charting our Education Future, emphasises that the denominational character of schools is a factor which plays a role in the admissions policies and staffing of schools. That role, however, must be reasonable and proportionate to the legitimate aim of preserving the ethos of schools and must balance this right of schools and their students against the rights to education of students of different denominations or none. While the denominational nature of schools may imply that they have a right to give preferential treatment to co-religionists, discrimination cannot be arbitrary and schools must act reasonably and fairly according to admissions criteria known to all in advance.
I do not envisage that a reduction in the pupil teacher ratio would have any overall impact on the enrolment arrangements made by such schools.
