James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to ensure that each child who wishes to attend a Wexford town secondary school will be accommodated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2474/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the position in relation to school admissions is that 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 Education and 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 (Tusla) 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.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will streamline and revise secondary schools' admissions systems in Wexford town to avoid a multiplicity of offers being made to prospective students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2475/18]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce a common admission rule for prospective students applying for places at Wexford town secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2477/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 98 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 was published in July 2016. The Bill, which passed Committee Stage on 28^thJune 2017 and will shortly proceed to Report Stage, is an important piece of legislation which strives to create a new more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admissions policy operates for the almost 4,000 primary and post-primary schools in this country.

The Bill provides an over-arching framework for greater transparency and consistency in school enrolment generally and thereby gives greater confidence to parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are legitimate, reasonable and fair.

The Bill will provide a basis for a more efficient enrolment process for schools generally. It includes a provision that the Minister may direct two or more schools to co-operate with each other in the admission process to provide for a more effective and efficient use of resources.

The Bill also provides for schools to share information with each other in respect of applications received, offers made and offers accepted for the purposes of facilitating the efficient admission of students. The provision incudes a capacity for a Board of Management to share information with another board or patron in respect of applications for admission and offers of admission that have been made or accepted.

These provisions seek to address the practice of parents making applications or accepting offers for multiple schools and should make the enrolment process more effective and efficient for both schools and applicants.