Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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386. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the options available for a person (details supplied) going forward in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46552/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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 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.

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.

As the Deputy may be aware I published the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill on 6^thJuly 2016. The Bill proposes to amend the Education Act 1998 to provide an over-arching framework for greater transparency and fairness in school enrolment generally and thereby give greater confidence to parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are legitimate, reasonable and fair.

The provisions of the Bill should make it easier for parents to more easily access local schools and to enrol their children in a school that meets their needs.

The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill passed committee stage on the 28th June 2017 and will shortly proceed to report stage.