Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome this timely debate and am encouraged by Members' constructive contributions. Most Deputies requested that ideology be left out of the debate and, fortunately, that has been the case thus far. There was a concern that the debate might be used as an occasion to beat up the Catholic Church. The Ryan report was published a year ago and since then we have had the Murphy report. However, we must set aside our outrage at the findings of those reports for the purposes of this debate. We must discuss the issue in a calm and rational way, which is how the debate is thus far proceeding. Legacy issues in regard to child abuse and so on must be set apart from our deliberations today. The Dáil, as the forum of the people's representatives, has a crucial role to play in the national debate, as the Tánaiste said.

My constituency of Dublin North Central is a settled constituency whose population declined in the last census. The majority of schools in the constituency are Catholic and most parents, regardless of their religion, are pleased to send their children to the local school for various reasons, including that it is local and convenient. The local Catholic school usually has a great tradition in the community and a good reputation and the school principal and teachers are well known. First Holy Communion and Confirmation are big days in the parish. However, there are increasing calls, even in my constituency, for other options such as Educate Together schools. It is important that the needs and interests of those parents are recognised.

There has been much reference in this debate to the new arrangements for the recognition of primary schools. A Bill will come before the House shortly to give legal recognition to that, which will offer further scope for debate on these issues. In regard to faith formation, we are seeing a genuine attempt to deal with a complex area. It is important to acknowledge that a significant portion of parents want their children to receive faith formation during the course of the school day. That has been a feature of our education system for generations, but we now have a far greater diversity of faiths in the State. As the Tánaiste said earlier, is it not better, in accordance with parents' wishes, that children of different faiths are educated under one roof for the majority of their school day rather than being sent to different buildings on opposite sides of the town in order that they receive the faith element of their education. The community national school model is a new approach. We will get aspects right but there inevitably will be a need for modifications as we see how it works in practice. Practical issues arising in respect of religious instruction will offer lessons for the further roll-out of the model and it will continue to be monitored carefully. I give that assurance to the House.

I welcome the initiative by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in regard to the divesting of schools. I welcome the discussions that have taken place with the Department of Education and Skills and the work the Department is doing in this regard. It will be difficult to move it on to the next phase and there undoubtedly will be controversies at a local level. We must have widespread local consultation when the proposals are brought forward. The Catholic Church will have a crucial role to play in that regard and in ensuring the proposals that emerge are practical and enjoy broad support. I welcome all these developments without underestimating the difficulties we face in proceeding with this task.

See this speech in context