Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. The next petition is No. P000038/14. It relates to families of different nationalities travelling together through passport control and it was submitted by Mr. Norman Wilson. The matter is of considerable interest but we will defer the petition because we want to get clarification around some of the matters involved. We will revisit the petition in due course.

The next petition is No. P000029/15 and it has received considerable public interest. It is a petition for equal school access for all children, regardless of religion, and repeal of section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act that has been submitted by Mr. Paddy Monahan. I want to note that a large number of signed petitions have been handed over and are in the possession of the committee. The committee has deliberated on the matter and decided to invite officials from both the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Justice and Equality to appear before us to discuss in detail their interpretation of the current legislation. We want to also discuss how all schools are currently funded by the Department of Education and Skills. We have decided to write to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission seeking its opinion on the current legislation. That has been agreed by the committee members.