Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 441: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when school placement in Celbridge will be arranged for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10718/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Enrolment decisions are the responsibility of the Board of Management of each individual school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment by schools. Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, provides parents with an appeal process where a Board of Management of a school or a person acting on behalf of the Board refuses enrolment to a student.

Where a school refuses to enrol a pupil, the school is obliged to inform parents of their right under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to the Secretary General of my Department. It is only where an appeal under Section 29 is upheld that the Secretary General of my Department may direct a school to enrol a pupil. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. I will arrange for the details supplied by the Deputy to be forwarded to the NEWB.