Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge officially the students in the Gallery. It is lovely to have Young Social Innovators students from Coláiste Bríde here.

I absolutely understand and fully appreciate Deputy Ó Ríordáin's motivation in bringing forward this Bill. Equally, however, I am very conscious that schools have put a considerable amount of work, time, effort and energy into developing the new school admission policies, which have taken root in our schools only in the past academic year. A key feature of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act is that where schools are not oversubscribed, they must accept all applicants. The vast majority of our schools are not oversubscribed. Equally, schools have the opportunity to opt out of the provision. My view is that there is insufficient evidence available to us at this point to indicate that the provision this Bill proposes to delete poses difficulties for those seeking admission to schools where it is in use. I note also that the pre-legislative scrutiny report of the committee recommends not only deletion but also the setting up of an expert group. I believe that the establishment of an expert group to review the impact of the provision of the Act would be a useful first step. I consider that a reasonable approach. I therefore signal my intention to table on Report Stage an amendment to the Deputy's Bill which will establish an expert group to examine the impact of subsection 62(10)(b) on school admissions and provide a report detailing the expert group's findings.