School places in Ireland feel like a lottery, unfair, chaotic and full of uncertainty. Too many children have no school place, anxious about whether they will be with their friends, while parents are left stressed and overwhelmed.

Parents, we all want the same thing: clarity, fairness and a school place system we can trust.

Right now in Ireland, getting a school place feels like a lottery, and a lottery depends on luck, not fairness.

Some children are being offered multiple school places, while other children receive none at all. Families are left on long waiting lists, children are anxious and upset, and parents are stressed wondering if their child will get a place in their preferred school or a place at all.

This system creates unnecessary stress for families across Ireland every single year. If your child is not applying this year, this problem will still affect you in the future unless we fix it now.

The core problem is simple.
Parents cannot rank their preferred schools on one shared application.
Families are forced to apply to every school just in case.
Schools do not share a centralised system, so each school offers places separately.

This leads to
• duplicate offers
• long waiting lists
• months of anxiety
• children unsure if they will be with their friends
• parents rearranging work, childcare and commutes
• schools drowning in admin
• total unfairness in primary and secondary places

The solution is simple, proven and fair.
Let parents rank their preferred schools, 1, 2 and 3, on one single form.
Let schools use a centralised shared system to give every child one school place.

This helps
• parents finally have control and clarity
• children get a fair chance at their preferred school
• families avoid months of worry
• schools stop sending multiple offers
• waiting lists shrink
• every child gets one school place
• the entire system becomes transparent

This is not about taking a place away from any child.
This is about creating a system that protects every child.

Every child has a right to education.
Every family deserves fairness.

No parent should have to leave their child’s future up to luck.

Now is the time to demand change.

As parents, we must stand together and tell our Government , Tánaiste Simon Harris, and Minister for Education Helen McEntee that Ireland needs a fair, centralised school placement system for primary and secondary that gives every child one school place.

Please sign and share this petition.

Share it this in school WhatsApp groups, parent and community groups across Ireland.

The more parents who stand together for our children, the stronger our voice becomes.

United, the Government cannot ignore.

One child. One place. One system.