Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy in that schools need to be accountable to parents and we need greater levels of communication, engagement and transparency in how schools serve their communities. I understand what the Deputy is trying to achieve with his amendments, but we have concerns about how they would operate administratively as drafted. With 4,000 schools in the system, a centralised analysis of the accounts of each school could become a large administrative burden for everyone involved.

While I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 5 and 6, I assure the Deputies that information for parents, including on the collection and use of voluntary contributions, is an issue that the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, will examine in the context of the Department's work on developing plans for a parents and students charter. The way the amendments are worded means that they would not be workable. The aim in developing the charter is to strengthen the position of parents generally within our school system. The charter is the appropriate place for such issues to be addressed rather than seeking to amend the Education Acts through this Bill.

In addition, the Deputies may be aware that the Government gave approval last March to the drafting of the education (admission to school) Bill. The Bill is at an advanced stage of drafting and will be before the House shortly. The aim in introducing proposals on school admissions is to improve admission policies and to ensure that the way schools decide on applications is structured, fair and transparent. It is a concern that fees might be a factor in this regard. The proposed legislation would prohibit the charging of any fee or contribution as part of a school's admissions process, which should go some way towards alleviating the Deputy's concerns. Other issues will be dealt with in the charter.