Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 March 2007

Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages

 

6:00 pm

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The cherry-picking of students is an issue in a number of schools in different areas. Each of us has experienced this regarding children with special needs, Travellers and immigrant children. However, it should be borne in mind that all schools are not only obliged to have an enrolment policy but they are also obliged to conform with all other legislation such as that dealing with equality and they cannot discriminate against individuals. I am absolutely appalled that a girl could be excluded from a school because she is a Traveller and that the school could get away with it because that is blatant discrimination. Where cases have been taken by Travellers to the Equality Authority, they have been successful and they have ensured they cannot be discriminated against.

However, this practice is subtle. I recently came across a case where a boy wanted to attend the school his two brothers attend and he qualifies on the basis of being a sibling and a son of a past pupil. Geography did not enter the equation but he has special needs and his mother is being directed to send him to another school locally, which happens to do extraordinary work with children with special needs. While his mother has not been refused a place, she is being guided in the right direction. I would love her to take a case because it would stand up on the basis of that information. However, I indicated previously that my Department is conducting an audit through its regional offices in different areas to establish what is happening in schools so that we have proof rather than anecdotal evidence that they are refusing children on whatever basis and to examine their enrolment policies and whether they address special needs, ethnicity and so on. That would provide proper information.

The danger of introducing regulations is that they would apply to every school, even though this might not be a problem in every school. The age issue is a legitimate concern. It is compulsory to attend school between the ages of six and 16 and, therefore, a school is not obliged to take a child until he or she is six.

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