Ms Áine Lynch:

The starting point in relation to this Bill is that we need to have legislation that does not permit the possibility of discrimination. That has to be the starting point for whatever we do. The Senator is right about over-subscription. We have been saying for so long that it is at 20% but I am not sure that is still the case. When we talk to parents about this, locality and children mixing in their local community is hugely important. That moves beyond the school and it means that the children they know in their local community are the ones with whom they go to school and the families know each other. That is of central importance to families. Again, there are lots of admissions policies that do not have a discriminatory path and we should look to those for how we go forward.