Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 88:

In page 11, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:“(c) the Minister considers it in the best interests of students in an area that a jointly coordinated and operated admissions process is established in a specific area, as may be designated by the Minister, the Minister may apply directions to establish such a jointly coordinated and operated admissions process and direct the provision of all resources necessary for its establishment.”.

The locally centralised admissions process needs to be looked at much more seriously. It would be very useful where I live in east Meath and also in towns like Ashbourne, where parents could choose from a number of schools, all of which have different lists. While there is probably more co-operation now than there used to be, schools often do not know where they stand with students if students are on multiple lists.

There is a case for the Minister to do as the amendment proposes and establish a jointly co-ordinated and operated admissions process in order that, at the very least, schools know how many children are in the area. We have had problems in east Meath and in Ashbourne and Balbriggan over the years where there were not school places for children, while other areas may be overestimating the number of children. This should be considered. I understand the Minister is looking at it and I am glad of that. I would be interested to hear what he has to say.