Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My apologies for not being present for the opening statements. The education committee has done a great deal of work on the rights to education and access to education for vulnerable people, including a session on Traveller children. Senator Ruane and I take great pride in the committee's work, which shone a light on the issue of reduced timetables. I welcome what the Department is doing to follow up on that issue. The engagement we had following publication of the interim report indicated that the issue would be grasped once and for all. As mentioned, one of the key issues was the lack of monitoring of reduced timetables. We had only anecdotal evidence in that regard but we had heard from representatives of Traveller groups about how they are negatively impacted in regard to reduced timetables. The commentary from the witnesses in this regard is welcome news.

On the basics of education, in this country every child has a right to an education. However, it must be recognised that not every child is equal before he or she starts education. We need to put in place measures and supports to level the playing field. We hear much about equality of opportunity. As mentioned at a previous meeting of this committee, this is not about equality of opportunity; it is about the equality of the conditions surrounding the young person who is presenting.