Ms Jane Donnelly:

In response to Deputy Catherine Martin, we do not want to opt out. We want to opt in to an education that is objective, critical and pluralistic. The Constitution talks about opting out of religious instruction but if one looks at the Education Act, it talks about opting out of anything that is against one's conscience and, arguably, that is more broad. As a result of ethos and the integrated curriculum, religion goes into all the subjects under the curriculum. As it stands, our children sit at the back of the religious instruction class. However, religion is integrated, for example, into relationship and sexuality education and we cannot opt out of that. Our children would still be sitting in the back of the class in that regard.

Another problem is that the schools do not write down their ethos and we do not know where they are integrating religion into the various subjects under the curriculum. Arguably, we have a constitutional right to opt out of that. If one thinks about it, our children would be going to school and they would be opting out of the religious instruction class, relationship and sexuality education and any other where during the school day religion is integrated into the curriculum because that is how it works. We do not really understand ethos but it does integrate into the curriculum.

We want to opt in to an education that is objective, critical and pluralistic. There are international guiding principles of the teaching of religion and beliefs and those are called the Toledo guiding principles. The NCCA, on foot of a recommendation from the forum, is trying to introduce a course entitled "Education about Religions and Beliefs". We would be supportive of that to the extent that if the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill is amended in line with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission's recommendation that the curriculum be delivered in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner, then we would be able to opt in to "Education about Religions and Beliefs" in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner. We would be in a position for the first time in schools where we could opt in to that instead of trying to opt out. We want to belong. We do belong. We do not want segregated schools and we do not want to be in a position when our children go to school that they are segregated again.

In response to Deputy O'Loughlin, I addressed minority schools. Mr. Daly addressed them as well. Ireland has a unique system of education. No other country has that system of education. What usually happens is that if states fund religious schools, there is a parallel system of non-denominational schools where the majority of children attend. Even in one particular area in France - Mr. Daly might know more about this - the authorities fund some religious schools but they do not let them discriminate on entry. Our system is unique. That is how we discriminate.