Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the initiatives presented in the Education (Amendment) Bill 2010. While the existing patronage system served the education system and the country well for many generations, the debate on adapting it to the changing face of society has been going on for some time.

One must acknowledge the contributions made by patrons, chairpersons and members of boards of management to the education system. Many chairpersons of boards of management did not receive financial recognition for the contribution they made in education provision. As public representatives, Members know well of local issues that emerged with boards of management, such as conflicts over discipline, which caused heartache for board members. The State must acknowledge the voluntary commitment of those who served on boards of management to ensure the betterment of education in their communities.

As society has changed, however, issues surrounding the patronage system have emerged. Some argue it is time to fundamentally change the entire education system, taking primary school patronage out of the control of the various religious organisations and communities which have traditionally been in charge. I contend that system worked well for us in the past.

Statistics show that in the past 12 years, Educate Together has opened more primary schools than any other provider. This is largely due to the changing face of society, particularly in urban areas. Educate Together has done exceptionally well in bringing together all that is good from our educational tradition and new education methods.

The Bill sets out a framework that will allow VECs to provide for primary education, a new departure. Many VECs have already assisted primary school providers. The Cork County VEC has been charged with advising and helping the Department of Education and Skills and the boards of management of the two primary schools in Kanturk in regard to finding a new site, which I hope will be brought to a conclusion in the not too distant future.

VECs have huge strengths but, like every aspect of society, there are those who are critical of them. Since the VECs started out they have done very well. Following on from the late 1960s and the introduction of free education in community schools and colleges and comprehensive schools, they have done exceptionally well in what they have been charged to provide by the Department of Education and Skills, the State and the Minister of the day.

While the issues in the Bill have been debated at length, when I and Deputy Enright were members of the Joint Committee on Education and Science we heard numerous deputations before the committee reflecting different views, standpoints and ways forward. The Department and Minister have examined this issue very personally in introducing this Bill. People in advice centres or those looking for meetings will sing the praises of the current system while others will criticise it.

The Bill provides an initiative to ensure that we can provide primary education outside the control of the religious communities. Everyone has bought into this, including the Catholic hierarchy. The control the hierarchy sought in the provision of education was a difficulty that could not be overcome in the not too distant past. It challenged the State at all times. Many priests who are chairs of boards of management would be only too delighted to leave them because of the responsibility and difficult choices which have to be made. In many dioceses laypersons rather than bishops are chairpersons of boards of management.

The Bill amends some of the aspects of the Education Act 1998. It reflects the position of the Constitution which is that education is to be provided in schools which are recognised or established by the State. It is a constitutional requirement of the Government.

Government policy over the years has changed to providing different types of education. The term "pluralist" is probably too simple a way of explaining it. The reality is that society has changed enormously. The last major change, in terms of the provision of education in VECs, took place in the 1950s. By and large the community schools and comprehensive schools amalgamated - they were known as the "tech" - and formed one new school.

We are now moving into a new system of education which has not been a challenge for the State for up to 50 years. We are moving into a new society and a different regime. The Bill provides for patronage by the VECs and provides that each of the schools, even though they will have the patronage of the VEC in the city, county or the new regimes which were announced yesterday, will have their own independent boards of management. That is a reflection of what has been in place heretofore when a bishop appointed the patron and the boards of management were independent units.

The issue has been debated in the courts when disputes arose. Boards of management have the ultimate responsibility for schools but perhaps it should be the State. It will put huge pressure and responsibility on boards of management if the State and Government decide to submerge the responsibility into the Department of Education and Skills. There will be issues with that as well because such a decision would take away local involvement and power from the community in schools.

Since 1997, some 117 new schools have opened, 29 of which are Catholic and the majority of which are under the alternative system of patronage, Educate Together. It is important to draw a distinction between the arguments that should apply where prospective patrons wish to establish a new school and those that need to be put in place to manage the change in patronage or the reconfiguration of existing schools. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin indicated clearly that if there was no demand for a Catholic ethos or patronage in a school, the church was willing to consider releasing schools from its patronage, but that would only be done on the basis of discussions with parents, teachers and the general community. It is vitally important that any decisions which are taken involve the community which should have a say on what system of education is available.

I commend the Bill to the House. Many issues need to be thrashed out and Members have numerous suggestions. The Bill has to be welcomed. It is a new initiative for the education system for the future. Let us hope it will serve our country as well as the education system has done in the past. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on the Bill.

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