Fr. Paul Connell:

I am delighted by the consensus that has emerged here this evening. I welcome it. As a working principal, I have experienced a tsunami of initiatives over the past number of years. The energy in our schools, which should be student-centred and directed towards the student, is increasingly being diverted to deal with more and more bureaucracy. I appeal to the committee not to introduce more and to make things better, not worse for our schools.

Deputy Daly mentioned the small cost. There is a cost in the lives and energy of the people who work in our schools. There is a cost in the lives and energies of good working people who sit on our boards of management and who give seven, eight or nine nights a year to sitting on those boards. They can do without sitting for another nine nights dealing with grievance procedures and other things which will make things far worse. Whatever is done by the committee, I ask it to make sure it does not increase the burden on our schools.

I am disappointed that Deputy Daly put on the record of the committee that some of our bodies are not open and transparent. It is very unfortunate. I hope he will withdraw it. We have articles of management. We have systems in place for how our boards are brought together and elected. They are absolutely and completely open and transparent. I go along with all the comments of my colleagues here. It is very difficult to get parents involved in boards of management because of the huge and increasing level of responsibility being placed on them by rafts of new legislation.

Our schools could not survive without our parents. We depend on them. We cannot operate what we have without the support of our parents. I agree with Deputy Byrne we need more resources not more legislation.