Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will reply to a query (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41725/08]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 225: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41727/08]

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will support a matter (details supplied). [41826/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 225 and 235 together.

The question of enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools and the Department does not seek to intervene in decisions made by schools in such matters. The Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. This may result, however, in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.

It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants.

Under section 15 (2) (d) of the Education Act 1998, each school is legally obliged to disclose its enrolment policy and to ensure as regards that policy that principles of equality and the right of parents to send their children to a school of the parents choice are respected.

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 Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to either the relevant Vocational Educational Committee or to the Secretary General of my Department. In the case of the latter, only where an appeal under Section 29 is upheld can the Secretary General of my Department 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. The NEWB will try to help parents to find an alternative school placement if their child is on a waiting list or has been unable to secure a school placement to date. The NEWB can be contacted at National Educational Welfare Board, National Headquarters, 16-22 Green Street, Dublin 7 or by telephone at 01-8738700.

The Forward Planning Section of my Department is currently in the process of identifying the areas where significant additional school accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level. Factors under consideration include population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and capacity of existing schools to meet demand for places. Having considered these factors decisions will be taken on the means by which emerging needs will be met within an area.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 224: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will reply to a query (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41726/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is not involved in the allocation of school places. Enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools and my Department does not seek to intervene in decisions made by schools in such matters. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places.

The Deputy will appreciate the sensitivity attached to releasing this type of information for each school. The source of the data comes from the annual 'October Returns' from each post-primary school to my Department. Amongst the data collected on each student is a "country of origin" designation. This designation defaults to "Ireland" unless otherwise indicated in each school's return.

In this context and based on this designation, I can inform the Deputy that the number of students whose "country of origin" was returned as other than Ireland for each of the post-primary schools in the Dublin area in 2006/2007 was 3,262. Total enrolment for that school year for these schools was 90,072.

The total enrolment for all post primary schools in the Dublin area for the school year 2007/2008 was 89,376. Of these 3,424 were students whose "country of origin" was returned as other than Ireland.