Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. He spoke about some of the pressures being created, such as those caused by the duplication of applications. I have sympathy for parents who make duplicate applications, particularly because they feel they have no choice. When they come into my office, we have a conversation and talk about what they are doing. They are being told by the schools to collect their refusals and then lodge a section 29 appeal. That is really stressful. This is for something very basic, namely a school place for their child. They are not looking to go to space. It is just something very simple and very basic that a decent, functioning society, led by a similar government, would be able to provide.

What am I to advise parents to do now? Am I just to tell them to collect their refusals and appeal under section 29? Will there be communication from the Department? The schools are writing to the Department and I am the parents' last port of call. They try everything else before they come to me. They have already been through all the steps. Maybe the Minister of State can tell me what I am supposed to say to them. They understand the point about duplicate applications and the demographic pressures and that if there are only 20 seats in a classroom, only 20 kids can go into it. However, they are concerned about what seat their child will sit in and what place will be available for their child. It is incredibly stressful. The Minister of State knows what kids are like. They all talk about the secondary school they will be going to, or, if they are in the naoínra, the primary school. Far too many children are going home to their parents asking them where they will be going to school. The parents do not know, which really causes them a great deal of stress. They do not know whether their children will have to get transport. They cannot make plans. Very often in my constituency, both parents will be working and commuting long hours to get to and from work. They need some certainty.

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