Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
622. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of section 29 appeals that have been received by her Department from parents seeking school places, by county, from 2020 to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39959/26]
View answerThe department’s main responsibility is to ensure that schools within an area can collectively cater for all pupils seeking school places in that area.
The Section 29 Administration Unit has liaised with the Deputy on this matter, and the Deputy has agreed to refine the scope of the question to include statistics from 2021 onwards, rather than from 2020.
Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 was amended in 2018 and was commenced on 11 November 2020;
In light of this, using figures from 2021 onwards ensures consistency and comparability in the data, as figures prior to 11 November 2020 are not directly comparable due to these legislative changes.
The number of Section 29 appeals, submitted to the department, in relation to admission decisions, up to *21 May 2026, is as follows:
|
County |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
*2026 |
Totals |
|
Carlow |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
Cavan |
3 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
|
Clare |
7 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
24 |
|
Cork |
28 |
19 |
22 |
32 |
16 |
14 |
131 |
|
Donegal |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
8 |
|
Dublin |
117 |
96 |
77 |
121 |
152 |
55 |
618 |
|
Galway |
37 |
12 |
13 |
10 |
26 |
8 |
106 |
|
Kerry |
3 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
|
Kildare |
36 |
24 |
56 |
69 |
31 |
17 |
233 |
|
Kilkenny |
7 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
21 |
|
Laois |
16 |
8 |
5 |
18 |
11 |
2 |
60 |
|
Leitrim |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Limerick |
7 |
15 |
40 |
4 |
12 |
7 |
85 |
|
Longford |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
11 |
|
Louth |
13 |
6 |
7 |
4 |
12 |
3 |
45 |
|
Mayo |
2 |
5 |
1 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
30 |
|
Meath |
12 |
16 |
19 |
31 |
26 |
8 |
112 |
|
Offaly |
7 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
9 |
4 |
33 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Sligo |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
|
Tipperary |
2 |
2 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
25 |
|
Waterford |
2 |
6 |
13 |
8 |
10 |
1 |
40 |
|
Westmeath |
7 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
4 |
33 |
|
Wexford |
6 |
7 |
4 |
12 |
6 |
3 |
38 |
|
Wicklow |
7 |
2 |
6 |
16 |
9 |
3 |
43 |
|
Totals |
322 |
238 |
286 |
378 |
363 |
151 |
1,738 |
