Allegations that schools in Limerick are operating a policy of "educational apartheid" are to be examined at a specially-convened forum shortly.
The forum has been called by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, after allegations by the INTO that 49 students were effectively excluded from prestige schools in the Limerick area last year because they come from disadvantaged areas.
Some in the INTO have accused Limerick schools of excluding students because they are deemed to be from "undesirable areas".
The crisis meeting will be attended by school managements, public representatives, and parents. Last night, the Department of Education and Science confirmed that 16 pupils from the city have still to find a second-level school for this academic year.
Mr Dempsey is to write to every school in the area inviting them to attend a meeting with him on September 13th. Members of the local community and voluntary groups will also be invited.
In a defence of their position, some schools in Limerick say they are heavily oversubscribed. They maintain they operate open and transparent enrolment policies.
Mr Dempsey's decision to convene a meeting on the enrolment situation in the Limerick city area was welcomed yesterday.
Ms Áine Cremin, principal of Corpus Christi National School in the Moyross area, said it was a "wonderful idea".
"What is needed is a definite system to be put in place that schools would engage with and adhere to. All schools have to be bound by the same entry requirements." Last year, 10 children from Ms Cremin's school did not have a place at second level.
"Schools need to show a willingness to enrol all children irrespective of their social standing. We don't want to ghettoise children," she said.
Mr John Carr, general secretary of the INTO, said he welcomed Mr Dempsey's intervention. But he warned that, while the situation was particularly urgent in Limerick, there was a need for a wider discussion about the transfer of pupils on a national basis.
Mr George O'Callaghan, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body, which represents the majority of second-level schools here, said he was unsure how much the meeting would achieve as there had been difficulties with the enrolment of boys in the Limerick city area for many years. "It's not going to be easily solved, as far as I'm concerned.
"Obviously the Minister thinks he can use his powers of moral persuasion on schools to take more students. The most effective solution would be to create a situation where the school can take more students. But this requires funding and resources."