Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Select Committee on Education and Skills
Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage
4:30 pm
Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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The big problem here is the soft barriers. Some of the soft barriers are erected in schools by the professions who are advising the Minister, but not by all of them. A huge number of them do outstanding work. The soft barriers are not imposed by me. I certainly do not want to impose them by legislation and they are not directly imposed by the Minister either. If we are allowing categories now to be preferred, surely that legislates for soft barriers. I am open to be convinced that I am wrong, but I am not convinced of that at the moment.