Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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282. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will secure a place for a child in a main stream post-primary class in County Offaly (details supplied); if she is aware that there are over 100 children awaiting such placement offers in the county; the steps she is taking to address these concerns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68657/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, 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 students 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.

The Apply to School pilot was introduced to simplify and improve the admissions process for post-primary schools in five pilot areas, including Tullamore. This new system provides families, for the first time, with a single online application and introduces synchronised, streamlined timelines for schools to manage admissions, issue offers, and update a central database to record accepted places.

I wish to advise the Deputy that schools continue to operate in line with the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and their own Admissions Policies. Under this process, some applicants may receive more than one offer, while others may not receive an offer until later in the process. The centralised system helps identify duplicate acceptances and supports families in achieving certainty on school places earlier.

As part of this process, a second round of offers will be issued on 4 December. This ensures that any places that become available after the first round are allocated fairly and that every child is considered.

I want to reassure parents that there are sufficient first-year places in each pilot area for local children seeking a place. The Department will closely monitor the outcomes of the admissions process to ensure that all local children are accommodated and to identify any required solutions if necessary. The Apply to School pilot will provide early clarity and robust data to support this commitment.

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.

TUSLA’s Education Support Service (TESS) is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child.

Contact details for TESS are available at the following link www.tusla.ie/tess/get-in-touch/ or by email at tessinfo@tusla.ie.