Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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516.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans to review common application processes for secondary schools in areas where there is oversubscription, like Dublin 15, and progress actions that can be implemented for enrolments in September 2025, as per her Seanad statement on 17 April 2024, including engagement with schools and education partners to better align timeframes and data-sharing arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34033/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the Department.

In order to plan for school place needs, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform my Department's projections of school place requirements.

The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, is an important piece of legislation which has introduced a more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admissions policy operates for the almost 4,000 primary and post-primary schools.

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, 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.

The act requires schools to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. Schools have discretion in relation to their admission criteria and how they are applied. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves.

While there are 314 school planning areas across the country, only a small number of areas require engagement from the Department with schools and patron to work through mainstream school place solutions. The areas that experience enrolment pressures can vary from year to year but are typically located in and around city areas and commuter regions. These will continue to be addressed by maximising existing capacity and providing additional accommodation where required. The successful data-sharing arrangements that were implemented for the 2024/25 admissions process in areas of enrolment pressure will be put in place again for the 2025/26 process.

The Deputy will be aware of the Common Application System (CAS) which has worked very effectively in Limerick City, and a similar process has been successfully implemented in Ennis. There are a lot of benefits to this system, particularly in terms of identifying capacity pressures at an early point and avoiding duplication on waiting lists etc.

In addition, my Department intends to trial a more coordinated admissions process in a couple of school planning areas, so that the implementation can be further reviewed. It would be extremely challenging to trial a coordinated process in areas that experience a significant volume of inward and outward movement, or areas that have a large number of schools. These, and other factors, will be considered in identifying the relevant areas. My Department will be engaging with the relevant stakeholders, including patrons and school management bodies, in the coming weeks.