Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I thank all the witnesses for their contributions. A common thread runs through them all. I have a few questions. Perhaps we could get from the witnesses a sense of how prevalent this problem is, not that the scale of the issue is the only reason to legislate, because one child in a family being discriminated against is one too many. Could the witnesses give us a sense of how common this is? Today we are discussing a codified selection criteria and how it can discriminate against some people. That relates to my first question. How pervasive is this in the form of discrimination where no formal criteria is in place?

Do schools need these formal criteria in order for them to make selections on the basis of family backgrounds?

Dr. Doyle stated that his view was that any admissions criterion in oversubscribed schools will result in discommoding certain students and families. Which criteria are the most legitimate on which to make these difficult decisions? What policies would result in the least discriminatory practices?

Can the witnesses think of any circumstances in which the current legislation is justified, or is it fundamentally unjustifiable and should be removed? Is there an issue with gentrification where, due to the housing crisis, people cannot afford to live in communities in which they grew up?

How can the admissions process be simplified to ensure the filling in of forms is not off-putting for parents, especially with low literacy levels?