Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 June 2026
195. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps she will take to legislate against certain aspects of school admission polices (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44771/26]
View answerThe overall objective of the Admissions Act is to provide a framework for school enrolment that is designed to ensure that every child is treated fairly and that the way in which schools decide on applications for admission is structured fair and transparent.
The Act creates confidence for parents that the admission criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are visible, legitimate, reasonable, and fair. The legislation is part of a suite of measures taken to take greater account of the needs of parents and students in the school system. The Act provides for schools to explicitly state in the school's admission policy that it will not discriminate against an applicant for admission on the grounds of disability, special educational needs, sexual orientation, family status, membership of the traveller community, race, civil status, gender or religion while including provision for single sex schools and denominational schools to reflect, in their admission policy, the exemptions applicable to such schools under equality legislation. A key provision in the act that schools must accept all applicants unless they are oversubscribed.
The provision referred to by the Deputy relates to section 62(10)(b) of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018. This allows schools, if they so desire, to take into account a student's connection to a school by virtue of a parent or grandparent having previously attended the school when deciding on an application for admission to that school.
This is in recognition of the ties which parents, grandparents and broader families may have to schools and is subject to a limit of 25% on the number of available places that can be filled by a school using this criterion. The statutory limit of 25% on the number of available places that can be filled by a school using this criterion, is a limit imposed by the act where previously there was no limit. There are no plans to review this provision at this time.
