Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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610. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the case of a child (details supplied) who does not have a place in a local school for the forthcoming school term; the advice to parents in this situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24201/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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. Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available for the relevant year, the student 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 student not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.

In accordance with the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, schools are required to clearly set out their selection criteria in their admission policies. The criteria to be applied by schools and the order of priority are a matter for the schools themselves. It is an important feature of the act that schools can only make a decision on an application for admission that is based on the school’s admission policy.

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, the parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission. An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed. An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(ii) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due a reason other than the school being oversubscribed.

TESS advise parents/guardian to make applications to both local schools and schools outside of their immediate locality that they may not have already applied to. This child referred to by the Deputy will turn 6 during the next academic year and the Educational Welfare Service will prioritise their case for allocation to an Educational Welfare Officer where a referral indicating that they are still without the offer of a school place by August 2025 is received. If the parent/guardian of this child requires further advice or guidance at this time, they can contact Glenn Perry, Senior Educational Welfare Officer at .