Ms Deirdre O'Connor:

Perhaps I can clarify the proposal to devolve the statutory function for primary decision making regarding enrolment to the principal. I reiterate the point about teaching principals in primary schools, as these are not people sitting in offices. They are standing in a classroom with 27 or 28 children, and their capacity to carry out additional work is very limited. Principals are very mindful in schools that they have relationships with existing parents and parents in the community. They live and work in the communities and take decisions, whether they are regarding oversubscription or whether a child cannot get a school place. This is a high-stakes decision for a parent.

The Department is making a distinction between a situation in which a child is simply not able to get a school place and a parent's choice. One of the ironies, as I pointed out, is that there are no criteria in these regulations for oversubscription and there is nothing stipulating when a school is full. Many of the fundamental appeals are an argument that a school has room for a child but has arbitrarily decided not to take the child. There may be space in fifth or sixth class, if one does a simple sum of dividing the number of pupils by the number of teachers.

With regard to the role of a principal, there is also a fear that if a principal took a decision that was subsequently overturned on appeal to a board, the principal would be put into conflict with the board, and no principal wants to be in that position with an employer. A parent may also believe that a board will back up a principal and uphold his or her decision, so the ultimate appeal line with the board or the primary decision making line with the principal is not satisfactory.

With regard to the provision of education for Travellers and children with special educational needs, it is very regrettable that resources for Traveller children were withdrawn in 2011. It is kind of an unintended consequence of the integration that Senator O'Donnell mentioned.