Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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117. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the use of religion to determine admission to schools. [25805/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Parents can choose which school to apply to and where the 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. 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.

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.