Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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234. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to confirm that she and her Department will intervene to ensure that more school places will be made available in the Mallow, County Cork region for the forthcoming school year, as schools in the area are fully subscribed such as a school (details supplied) and there are a number of pupils from Mallow without school places for the forthcoming school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35077/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department uses a range of data sources when analysing the demand for school places, including enrolment data, child benefit data, census data, Local Authority population & housing projections and data on residential construction activity.

As the Deputy may be aware, the annual enrolment process for new Junior Infants at primary and new First Years at post-primary is a very large-scale operation that is transacted at close to 4,000 schools across the country, involving some 140,000 pupils. While there can be enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note sometimes this may not be as a result of lack of accommodation. Enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area, and school of choice factors.

Under the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, 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.

With respect to post primary school places in Mallow, there are significantly more first year places available for 2025/26 than there are sixth class children in primary school across the wider area. According to data provided to my Department, while there are a number of boys remaining on the waiting list for Patrician Academy, the majority of these children have accepted a place at another school. Parents/guardians of a small number of boys who remain on the waiting list for Patrician Academy appear to have only applied for admission to that school. Parents/guardians of boys without a place are advised to make an application for admission to Davis College.