Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the school management to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Acts, 1998-2018. The 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 have the right to 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 (oversubscribed schools) a selection process will 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.

Information required to process enrolment includes a pupils personal details, including his or her name, address and date of birth. Schools collect certain personal information on pupils on behalf of the Primary Online Database (POD) which is a nationwide, individualised database of primary school pupils, facilitating the monitoring of educational progress as pupils move through the primary education system and on to post primary.

The system records school registration, allows schools to make online returns to the Department of Education and provides the Department with the comprehensive and in-depth information needed to develop and evaluate educational policy. There are fields to record both the birth certificate name and the name that the pupil is known by in the school, if that is different from their official name.