Catholic primary schools in the greater Dublin area have been told to offer places on a first come first serve basis, rather than priority enrolment for siblings.
It follows reports the Archdiocese of Dublin has asked schools to update their admissions policies. The changes are due to kick in for the 2021 academic year.
Schools have been told to give equal access to all children in the local catchment area.
In response, the archdiocese said the admissions policy has been the same for many years and has not changed "children of the area and siblings are both in category one for admission."
It went on to say a small number of schools are updating their policies to reflect this and are in contact with it's Education office about it.
Father John Gilligan is Parish Priest for Saggart, Rathcoole, Brittas and Newcastle. He says it's about equality;
"The policy is really only for those schools that are over-prescribed, so for most schools this won't apply" he said.
"Once the numbers are within the range there's no problem but it's where it's over-prescribed then you have the whole hassle of equality, equal rights."
It has led to concerns about the impact the move will have on parents if one child secures a place at a school but their sibling is forced to go elsewhere.
