Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak in this important and long overdue debate. There is no doubt that we live in changing times. Ireland's demographics have changed dramatically in the past 15 years and we have many new cultures. The country has modernised and acquired a diverse outlook in a very short period. It is essential that we accept and reflect this diversity in our schooling and education systems.

At the same time, it is not necessary to throw out everything that is traditional or has stood the test of time. Much of our education system is of a high quality, particularly at primary level. Given that the system is not broken, we must be careful about initiating a process of fixing it.

What is certain is that we do not have sufficient school places. This is not a question of diversity but one of practical numbers. The problem is probably most acute in Dublin. While I do not wish to be parochial, I will speak from experience. Deputy Quinn, my constituency colleague, will be familiar with a number of problem areas in Dublin South-East. The statistics and figures used by the Department to justify its failure to provide an adequate number of school places are either phoney or erroneous. The Minister, to whom I extend best wishes in her new role, has an opportunity at the beginning of her term of office to address this problem.

An excellent school under the patronage of the Catholic Church in Donnybrook, my local parish, is turning away 50 or 60 applicants every year. As the logical outcome of a process, the problem should have been foreseen. A number of traditional schools in the area, which were under the patronage of various institutions, have closed down and the sites sold to developers. Mount St. Anne's in Milltown is one such example. Many of the apartments and units built on these sites were family-sized homes. It was inevitable, therefore, that the families who moved into them would have children. They now find that their children have nowhere to go to school such is the extraordinary level of demand for school places in the area. Parents who put the names of newborn children on waiting lists for primary school places are finding that places are not available in local schools. This is a major inconvenience.

The Government must, almost above all else, prioritise the constitutional right to education because educational opportunities for young children are the bedrock of society, the economy and our future. I ask the Minister to take cognisance of this and ensure she does not deal with the issue lightly.

Diversity is centred on parental choice. Deputy Burke spoke eloquently of parents being the primary educators. Parents have a right to be engaged in this debate, which should take place on a formal basis, and a right to choose the type and ethos of school for their children. Certain people would love to use the recent horrific scandals in the Catholic Church as a stick with which to beat the church. Momentum is building to divest the Catholic Church of the patronage of schools around the country. I have grave reservations about this approach.

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