Mr. Kieran Christie:

The Vice Chairman and his colleagues made a number of points about us and our colleagues who are exclusively concerned with the primary sector. A number of issues were raised about transport and Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned catchment areas. I taught in a rural school for many years and catchment areas have always been a source of some problems. When one came back to school there were often issues around catchment areas because they had been redefined. As the Deputy said, families that had traditionally gone to a particular school found they were now in a position where they were being encouraged to go to other schools. I also draw attention to Dr. Emer Smyth's work in her book Cherishing all the Children Equally. There is a conundrum here in that almost half of junior cycle students do not attend their nearest school. Parental choice in education is largely driven by socioeconomic status. It is a fairly complex question but is definitely one that rears its head frequently at second level.