Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 406: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will review the failure of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick to obtain one of their four preference second level schools in County Limerick. [7668/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

All students who applied for a place under the Limerick city area post-primary schools common application form have been offered places in a school of their preference on the basis of their original application. Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 provides parents with an appeal process to the Secretary General of my Department, where a board of management of a school or a person acting on behalf of the board refuses enrolment of a student. Where an appeal under section 29 is upheld, the Secretary General of my Department may direct a school to enrol a pupil. The educational welfare officer can assist parents in submitting an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.

The parents of each student, including the person referred to by the Deputy, who did not receive an offer a place in one of his or her higher preference schools has a right of appeal under section 29 of the Education Act against each school for which he or she expressed a preference and which has not offered him or her a place. Parents contacting my Department will be advised that such appeals will be dealt with one at a time in the order of their preference.

However, to avoid false hopes it should be pointed out that an appeal is only likely to be successful if the schools application of its enrolment policy is found to be faulty or discriminatory in some way. Parents are advised to contact the schools which have refused places to find out the criteria which the school has applied in its enrolment policy and to determine if there are any grounds on which the parent feels an appeal would be successful. It is the responsibility of each school to have in place an enrolment policy which it can stand over.