Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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198. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the case of a person (details supplied) in relation to a secondary school placement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15570/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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.

This Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area.

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. It is important to note however that only 20% of schools are oversubscribed.

Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year. Further information on the Section 29 appeals process is available on the Department's website www.education.ie.

The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency (EWS) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS can be contacted at 01-7718500.