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Publication duties
Irish schools must publish the annual admission notice on a publicly available school website. The board publishes it at least one week before applications open. It sets the application open and close dates, the decision date, the acceptance deadline, and the number of places. The admission policy and the current application form go on the same website.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“cause to be published and maintained on a publically-available website maintained by the school a copy of its current annual admission notice”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication deadline | The board of management must publish the notice not later than one week before the school starts to accept applications. Source |
| Where it must be published | On a publicly available website maintained by the school. The board must also give a copy on written request. A parent, the Minister, or a member of the public may ask. Source |
| Earliest date applications open | A school may not accept intake-group applications before 1 October of the year before the school year concerned. For a residential boarding place the date is 1 October two years before. Source |
| Minimum application window | The closing date in the notice must be at least 3 weeks after the opening date. Source |
| Decision deadline | The school must notify the applicant of its decision in writing. For an application received by the closing date, the limit is 3 weeks after that closing date. For an application received later, the limit is 3 weeks after the school received it. Source |
| Places must be counted | The notice must state the number of places in the intake group. It must also state special class places and, for a boarding school, residential and non-residential places. Source |
| Prior-year oversubscription data | The rule applies if the intake group or a special class was oversubscribed last year. The notice must then state the applications received. It must also state the number and order of offers made against each selection criterion. Source |
| Offer acceptance window | The notice must set the maximum period to accept an offer. It must also state that the offer may be withdrawn after that period. Source |
| Admission policy on the same site | The board must publish the patron-approved admission policy on the school website within 2 weeks of receiving it. Source |
| Application form stays up | The board must publish and maintain the current application form. The duty runs from the date the notice is published to the last school day of that school year. Source |
| Parent review and appeal clock | If a school refuses a place because it is oversubscribed, the parent must first ask the board for a review. The board must give the outcome within 42 days of the refusal. A section 29 appeal must be lodged within 63 days of the original refusal. Where the refusal is on other grounds, the parent may appeal without a review first. Source |
| If the school does not publish | The Minister serves notice of the opinion and the reasons. The patron and the board may make representations within 14 days. The Minister may then appoint an authorised person to report. After the report, the Minister may issue a written direction. The direction sets the remedial action and the period to complete it. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
Last year's notice stays on the page. The dates are stale, so parents apply into a window that already closed.
/02
The notice goes out in a newsletter, an app message, or a social post, and never reaches the school website.
/03
The notice is published less than one week before applications open, so the statutory lead time is missed.
/04
The file is a scanned or photographed PDF. Screen readers cannot read it and phones cannot display it.
/05
An oversubscribed school leaves out the prior-year applications and the offers made per selection criterion.
/06
The application form is taken down mid-year, or the link points to a deleted file.
/07
The published policy is the draft version, not the version the patron approved.
/08
The notice sits three clicks deep under 'Documents', with no link from the admissions or enrolment page.
Who supplies this
Irish provider that builds and hosts primary school websites, with a policy and document area for admissions material.
https://primarysites.ie/
Irish school website platform for primary and post-primary schools, with staff-editable news and document sections.
https://schoolspace.ie/
Irish web agency specialising in school sites. Publishes a school website compliance checklist covering the admission policy and annual admission notice.
https://www.mutually.ie/school-website-design-ireland/
Irish supplier of primary and secondary school websites, trading as GF Web Design. Offers hosting, maintenance and ongoing support, plus a page on school website grants.
https://schoolwebsitesireland.ie/
Irish governance software for boards of management. Tracks policy publication and keeps a dated evidence record for inspection.
https://www.edvance.ie/
Free official templates and circulars, including the Annual Admissions Notice template, the template admission policy and Circular 0007/2020.
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/policy-information/school-admissionsenrolment/
Send the duty, the deadline and where it has to sit. What comes back is a written scope for the page, or a straight answer that you do not need one.
Send the briefLast checked 2026-09-01 · Published 2026-09-01
This page is reference material, not legal advice. Your advisor owns what applies to you.