Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It has been suggested that parents should have power to consent to the designation of a school or to appeal a failure or refusal to make such a designation. I favour the latter approach. The Bill already permits parents, in these circumstances, to request the council to designate a school and to appeal if it fails to do this. If a particular school has been sought it will be a party to this appeal. The council will be required to indicate whether, if it were to designate a particular school, it intends to make a recommendation to the Minister for additional resources for that school. This would ensure that all parties have all relevant information to present their case fairly to the appeals board. In no circumstances could a child be enrolled in a particular school without the consent of his or her parents without the intervention of the courts. That would involve reference to Article 42 of the Constitution.