Ms Jane Donnelly:

I will respond to both Deputies. The right to education is a human right. It belongs to the child. He or she owns that right. By ratifying the various international treaties, the State has already guaranteed that child can access a local school without discrimination on any of the known grounds. I read the regulatory impact analysis that was prepared by the Department of Education and Skills. In the section of that analysis relating to the rights of citizens, it is made clear that the right to be educated in a place of choice is subject only to the use by schools of "lawful over-subscription criteria". That is a nice way of saying discrimination, especially when 96% of the primary schools in Ireland have a religious ethos. I would like to explain to the committee what is meant by "lawful over-subscription criteria" in practical terms on the ground. I am not picking on the three schools I intend to mention - I just happened to find these details. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul-----