I propose to take Questions Nos. 240 and 244 together.
My Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post primary level to determine where additional school accommodation is needed. As with other planning areas nationwide, the demographic data for the Prosperous-Clane school planning area are being kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated data.
The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application to my Department for additional accommodation last week. The application will be assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process has been completed.
Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available, the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary.
This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year. Further information on the Section 29 appeals process is available on the Department's website www.education.ie .
The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-7718500.
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
The Scheme caters for situations where the Department is satisfied that the nearest school is full and in such instances eligibility for school transport will be determined based on the distance a child resides from his/her next nearest school having regard to ethos and language.