David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and thank the Minister for being here at this late hour. The Minister is aware of the pressures in east Cork with respect to secondary school places. To give an example, one woman was told earlier this year that her daughter was placed in one school at No. 274 on the waiting list, at No. 256 in another school and at No. 124 in another school, and she had applied to all three. Obviously, the stress and strain of that is enormous and that is only one family out of hundreds.

I acknowledge the work that has been done in the last while by the Minister and her officials, school principals and the education and training board with respect to making extra school places available. However, as the Minister will understand, parents accepted the first place they were offered when they saw the length of the waiting lists. They were not aware that being placed on a waiting list is considered a refusal to admit and can be appealed, so most of them had not appealed. Before they use a section 29 appeal, they should get a review from the board of management, but parents do not know that, or that it must be made within 21 days and that the appeal has to be done within 63 days. One would almost have to be a barrister to follow how the appeal system works, and this is before they can go and look for school transport. It is extremely complicated.

As I have suggested previously, in the first instance, the Minister might consider having Carrigtwohill and Midleton as one education centre for school transport. At a stroke, that would solve a whole range of problems for parents who are faced with having to drive children to school because they did not get into the nearest school because they did not appeal, or because they did not do a section 29 appeal, and so on and so forth. Parents have been stressed all year, and this involves hundreds of parents and families because of the waiting lists.

I am glad the Minister is present. I am still not sure that all the students that applied have places and, from what I can figure out, there could be 50, 60 or 70 students without places for September. I would like the Minister to take note of that and to again go back to her officials to check it out.

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