Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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149. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the extent to which she is aware of difficulties arising from the school enrolment process at various schools throughout the country, with particular reference to areas experiencing an increase in the population; her views on the proposed legislation in this regard to address the issues emerging; if it is possible to expedite the process in time for the next school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3345/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. 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 on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves.

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 publish its enrolment policy.

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 either the relevant Educational Training Board or to the Secretary General of my Department.

The Child and Family Agency, is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The Agency can be contacted at 01 6352854 or by E-mail at info@tusla.ie.

My Department uses a Geographic Information System to identify the location and scale of additional school accommodation needed on a nationwide basis. The outcome of demographic reviews carried out using this system are then fed into my Department's five year construction plan. This plan is focussed on meeting demographic demands to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to accommodate increasing pupil numbers.

The Deputy will be aware that Government gave approval in March last year for drafting the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2014. The bill is currently at an advanced stage of drafting and is on the Government legislative programme for publication early in the Spring/Summer session.

The objective of the Admissions to School Bill is to provide an over-arching framework to ensure that how schools decide on who is enrolled and who is refused a place in schools is more structured, fair and transparent. The framework also proposes a mechanism for ensuring that every child receives a school place.

A key objective in designing the framework is to create greater confidence for parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools are legitimate, reasonable and fair.