Mr. John Suttle:

Parental choice in regard to denominational education has been mentioned. The constitutional provisions in Ireland are stronger than in any other country in Europe. They are different from those in other countries in Europe. Parents have a constitutional right to send their children to a religiously exclusive school in Ireland but only one that is privately funded. Article 42.1 uses the term "according to their means". Parents do not have a constitutional right to send their children to a religiously exclusive State-funded school. In fact, the State is obliged to provide free primary education, but only in schools that are open to children of all religious denominations. The State is not allowed to support in any way a school that has religious exclusion as part of its admissions policy. The idea of having Catholic, Protestant and multidenominational schools all State supported seems acceptable to most people, but if the State got involved, it would involve religious apartheid in schools, or the separation of children of four years into different religious groups. The State is excluded from involving itself in that sort of thing. It is not allowed to support schools that are not open to all religions.

The forum on patronage and pluralism has made many recommendations in this regard. However, all the State seems to be doing at present is focusing on areas where the children of all religious denominations are going to school together. However, they are going to school together where the patronage of all the schools is Catholic. At present, the State is taking one of these schools and changing its patronage with a view to making it the non-Catholic school in the area. If this is done in Dublin, where Catholics-first policies are in every national school under Catholic patronage, there will be an area divided into Catholic and non-Catholic schools. This is nonsensical and ridiculous, and it completely goes against the thrust of what the forum wanted to achieve. The forum made eight recommendations that could be implemented without legislation to try to make all schools receiving State support appropriate for taking children of all religious denominations, which is the children's constitutional right. The State is not doing anything in this regard. The forum recommended that rule 68 be removed, but this is not being done. The forum recommended that the Minister raise awareness of the constitutional rights of children, but I do not believe this is being done. It was recommended that religious education be a separate subject, but this is not being achieved. It is recommended that religious education and sacramental preparation should not encroach on the general curriculum, but this is not being achieved either.