James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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539. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to examine the issue of school places in Kill, County Kildare for the next academic year (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46702/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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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.

As the Deputy may be aware, 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.

It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not always be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

Duplication of applications;

School of choice;

Single sex schools; and

External draw.

Notwithstanding the above, in some areas demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places.

Kill is located in the Naas School Planning area. Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity and identifies any requirement for additional provision. Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, be provided through:

Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools;

Extending the capacity of a school or schools;

Provision of a new school or schools.

My 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. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.

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.

All schools must 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. My Department does not seek to intervene in the selection criterion that is applied by schools.

Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal where a board of management, or a person acting on behalf of the board of management (normally the school principal) refuses to admit a student to a school. Where the decision to refuse admission is due to the school being oversubscribed, a review of the decision by the board of management must be sought in the first instance. Following a review it is open to the parent to appeal to the independent appeals committee.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers. Contact details are available on Tusla’s website.

I want to assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to work to ensure a school place for every child throughout the Naas School Planning Area including Kill.