Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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768. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on a matter (details supplied) regarding national schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28491/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The majority of school buildings in the state are in private ownership and under denominational patronage. When state monies were provided to facilitate building works to school property owned by a third party, a legal mechanism had to be put in place in order to protect the State's interest. This was known as a Charging Lease or Declaration of Trust. These leases protect the Minister's capital investment in the school property and require that the property be used as a school for a set period.

As a result of negotiations in the late 1990's on the reconstitution of Boards of Management, an agreement was reached whereby patrons agreed to cede representatives on the Boards of Management in lieu of the Department agreeing to insert a Deed of Variation into the existing property lease. The Deed of Variation refers to a change in the terms of a charging lease or Declaration of Trust. The objective of this Deed of Variation is to provide security for the denominational ethos of a school in cases where a patron or trustee owns the property. Discussions have taken place with the relevant patron bodies over the years to obtain a mutually acceptable solution which meets this objective and these discussions are ongoing.

Section 15 of the Education Act, 1998 provides that a board of management shall manage the school on behalf of the patron and uphold, and be accountable to the patron for so upholding, the characteristic spirit of the school as determined by the cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, linguistic and spiritual values and traditions which inform and are characteristic of the objectives and conduct of the school.

In relation to school admissions, 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 may be 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. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.

Schools are not permitted to discriminate against an applicant for admission on any of the grounds set out in the Equal Status Act, 2000. However, the Equal Status Act provides that an educational establishment does not discriminate where the establishment is a school providing primary or post-primary education to students and 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. Schools that comply with the requirements of the equality legislation do not therefore discriminate on religious grounds.

The recently published Education (Admission to Schools) Bill does not propose changes to the existing equality legislation. However, the Bill provides for schools to explicitly state in the school's admission policy that it will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on the grounds of disability, special educational needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the traveller community, race, civil status, gender or religion while including provision for single sex schools and denominational schools to reflect, in their admission policy, the exemptions applicable to such schools under equality legislation.

The Bill also provides for schools to publish an enrolment policy which will include details of the school's arrangements for students who do not want to attend religious instruction.

Furthermore, the patronage determination process for new schools requires prospective patrons to commit to enrolling pupils from the area to be served by the new school.