Written answers

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Department of Education and Skills

School Enrolments

Photo of Jonathan O'BrienJonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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27. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to amend legislation so that children may not be discriminated against in accessing school places on the basis of religion. [21934/15]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Schools are not permitted to discriminate against an applicant for admission on any of the grounds set out in the Equal Status Act.

Where a school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process is necessary.

The Equal Status Act provides that a primary or post-primary school does not discriminate where the objective of the school is to provide education in an environment which promotes certain religious values, it admits persons of a particular religious denomination in preference to others or it refuses to admit as a student a person who is not of that denomination and, in the case of a refusal, it is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the ethos of the school.

The recently published Education (Admission to Schools) Bill does not propose changes to the Equal Status Act.

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