Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2021
521. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education the number of section 29 appeals that have been received in her Department in regard to enrolment rejections for the 2020-21 academic year for County Louth and catchment area in east County Meath by school name and number of appeals received for each school in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1663/21]
View answerIt is the responsibility of the Department of Education to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area. Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted.
It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to draft, publish and implement a school admission policy in accordance with the Education Acts 1998 to 2018. In schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. This may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in their school of first choice.
The admission policy, including the selection criterion to be used where the school is oversubscribed, must comply with the Education Acts 1998 to 2018, be non-discriminatory and be applied fairly in respect of all applicants.
Where a board of management make a decision to refuse admission, a parent/guardian can appeal that decision under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, and an independent appeals committee will be appointed to consider the appeal. This Department has no authority to compel a school to admit a student, except in circumstances where an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 has been allowed and the appeals committee directs that the school admit the child concerned.
My Department does not categorise appeals by location or by school. However, I can advise that the total number of appeals relating to refusal of enrolment heard by independent appeals committees between 1st September 2019 and 1st September 2020 was 181.
Where capacity issues arise it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by other factors such as:
- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area
- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area
- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils
- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area
Until these issues are discussed with the relevant school authorities the true extent of any capacity issue will not be fully known.
Similar to the process adopted in advance of the current academic year, my Department is engaging with patron bodies, including patrons in Louth and Meath, to identify particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming year(s) which may necessitate action including, where required, the provision of modular accommodation solutions.
