Martin Ferris (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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78. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will resolve an issue in the case of a person (details supplied) who cannot enrol in a school without a PPSN. [32342/16]

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.

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.

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 (EWS) of 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 EWS can be contacted at 01-7718500.

While my Department has adopted the PPSN as the unique identifier for post-primary students the absence of PPSN at the time when enrolment is being sought should not by itself prevent the enrolment of the student in a school. Where a PPSN is obtained by a student subsequent to enrolment it should be provided to the school.

The issuing of PPSN numbers is a matter for the Department of Social Protection.