Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 5, line 1, to delete “, or a special class in the school,”.

Amendments Nos. 7, 8, 18, 32, 49, 50, 65 and 92 are proofing amendments connected to the definition of oversubscribed. They remove explicit references in the Bill to a special class being oversubscribed as the definition of oversubscribed already explicitly incorporates oversubscription in a special class. Amendment No. 32 replaces the existing definition of oversubscribed in the Bill with a new definition of same.

Amendment No. 32 replaces the existing definition of "oversubscribed" in the Bill with a new definition. The definition in the Bill as it stands describes oversubscription in the context of the school as a whole or in the context of a special class only. During the proofing of this Bill, it emerged that this definition required adjustment to make it clear that oversubscription can arise in three different scenarios: in the intake year, in a special class and in classes or year groups other than the intake group. As the new definition of "oversubscription" incorporates oversubscription in each of these three scenarios, the sections of the Bill that refer to a school being oversubscribed no longer need to refer explicitly to a special class, intake year or other group.

Amendment No. 65 is a proofing amendment relating to the definition of "oversubscribed". The explicit reference to an intake group being oversubscribed that is being removed by this amendment is no longer necessary now that the amended definition of "oversubscribed" explicitly incorporates oversubscription in an intake group. The combined effect of amendments Nos. 32 and 65 will be to make it clear that a waiting list for a particular school year must be compiled and used when a school is oversubscribed, regardless of whether the oversubscription occurs in a special class, in an intake group or otherwise.

In line with the amended definition of "oversubscribed" that is being provided for, amendment No. 92 proposes to replace an alternative wording used in the Bill as its stands to describe "oversubscription" in the Bill with the phrase "the school is oversubscribed”. This will ensure a consistent approach in the Bill to describing oversubscription.

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