Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of newcomer children registered in primary schools and secondary schools for 2007/2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22320/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department captures data on students registered in primary schools via the primary school census.

My Department captures data on students registered in post-primary schools via the Post-Primary Database returns. The post-primary data includes information on each student's "country of origin". These data are derived from the answers given by parents to the school authorities when enrolling their children. The country of origin field on the database defaults to "Ireland" unless otherwise indicated in the returns submitted by schools.

The school returns for 2007/2008 are still being processed. It is envisaged that the results for both primary and post-primary will be available by the end of July. My Department will forward the data to the deputy as soon as it becomes available.