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

I commend the Minister on the work she is doing in this area because there is huge potential here. To clarify, is she saying students can actually avail of transport to the second-nearest school at second level? That is one question. Has the Minister looked at a similar situation applying to primary school students? That is my second question. I think I have time left to put a third question. I understand that where a student applies to a school and is told there is no place or is not offered a place but, rather, put on a waiting list, that is a de facto refusal. In such cases, the student can appeal to the board of management and if that does not work a section 29 appeal can be made to the Department. If it is deemed that there is no space in the school, the student is entitled to transport to the next-nearest school. However, many parents do not know about this process. In fact, I have said here previously that you would almost want to be a barrister to follow it. Parents are not aware of the process and they are not being told about it. In future, will the Minister ensure parents know that this process exists? By the time they find out about it, it is too late. Those are three questions on the second-nearest school for this year, the primary school situation and this convoluted appeals system.

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