Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputy Morgan.

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this important legislation, which has arisen in part as a result of circumstances in my constituency of Dublin West. Some years ago, the area experienced an extreme crisis in the formation of new schools as a result of an explosion in the number of children locally. This was partially due to the very high birth rate in the area. However, it also was because of a trend that the area of west Dublin shares with north Dublin and which probably also holds true around Drogheda, County Louth and in all the rapidly expanding areas of the country. Although new primary schools were being formed in multiples every year in all the developing areas by both Educate Together and local Catholic parishes, a significant number of children, mostly of international origin, were not qualifying for places in any of the schools despite all of the new school expansion. This was because there was such a population explosion of schoolchildren that this was not possible. Thereafter, two additional schools were formed, one in the Dublin 15 area and the other in north Dublin. The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Martin, took the patronage of the west Dublin school, called Scoil Choilm, on a two-year temporary basis, while Educate Together took the patronage of a school in the north County Dublin area, which meant that both principal patrons each took a school. In the case of Scoil Choilm, which now is a highly active and thriving school in Dublin 15, the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, indicated from the outset that it would be handed over to a VEC patron and after two years this decision was fulfilled. The aforementioned school has been under the patronage of the County Dublin VEC since then, albeit without any legal status for the VEC to act as patron. In so far as this Bill gives legal effect to what was promised and provides for the VEC to become a patron of Scoil Choilm in the full legal sense, this is to be welcomed.

Scoil Choilm now is a significant primary school with a permanent premises in Castleknock and has an overwhelmingly international school population. This leads to a point I wish to make because since the development of Scoil Choilm, a number of other VEC primary schools have been established in west Dublin that also cater to a significant international community. While all schools in west Dublin have large numbers of international students in their population, the VEC schools have a particularly high number of such students. Given that the students in such schools often come from more than 30 countries and therefore from a wide variety of backgrounds, it is important that, as the VEC is given responsibility by the Government for the patronage of such schools, one is clear about what one desires for these schools.

The first and most important point is not necessarily to do with religion but pertains to the quality and reputation of such VEC schools, as well as to their ambition for the children who attend them. Such schools under the patronage of the VEC must aspire to the very highest standards of education for the students in their care, regardless of whether they come from Ireland or an overseas background. This will be absolutely critical. The second principle is that in so far as is possible, these schools should be made sufficiently attractive for Irish families to be anxious to send their children to them. Such schools must be centres of outstanding achievements, learning and experience for all children who attend them, whatever their background. There is a great deal of phoney debate going on as though the only issue regarding these schools pertains to how religion is or is not taught or approached. That is to miss the point. The key element about any school is that all children who attend it should be invited into an attractive learning environment that enables them to make progress to the best of their ability and ambition, as well as that of their parents. They then should proceed successfully into the secondary school system and I note that many of the schools in west Dublin have a VEC secondary school attached. In turn, the children coming out of those secondary schools should then go on to do the same kinds of things as do children from primary and secondary schools with traditional patronage. I refer to the statistics that well over 50% of the students from Irish secondary schools go on to some kind of third level education. This is the ambition of most Irish parents and most international parents.

I have met the principals and many of the teachers of the VEC primary and new secondary schools in west Dublin and have had the opportunity to visit for various different events. It is clear that the quality of the teachers and leadership in those schools is absolutely excellent and outstanding. Moreover, the parents are highly engaged in supporting the schools their children attend. That is a most vital point when creating a successful school community. From the moment one enters the entrance hall of such a school, it has about it a ring of confidence and ambition for the future success of its children, whatever the capacity or wishes of the individual child or his or her parents may be.

As for the religious education and religious formation issue, Ireland has a model of denominational religious schools, which are highly valued by parents for obvious reasons. This is a constitutional right they have and will continue to enjoy and that the Labour Party supports and upholds. The model of Educate Together is multidenominational. All schools should respect all religions, as well as people who have an ethical foundation that is not necessarily expressed through a particular religion. Good models have been developed by Educate Together in particular to have a core curriculum that treats the basics of moral principles in respect of the approach to the world of the child and in terms of the school, home, village, town or city. Moreover, particularly when children in a school represent 30 or more different nationalities, children should have an opportunity to understand broadly, perhaps when they enter fifth or sixth class, what are the different great faiths of the world, what are their principal tenets and that there should be mutual respect and understanding.

It is relatively easy to make provision for a system of specific religious formation and different religious faiths have different traditions in this respect. For example, in the case of the Protestant churches, the Jewish faith and many of those who practice the Muslim faith, much religious formation takes place in the actual place of worship outside of the school. Members will be familiar with Church of Ireland Sunday schools, as well as various forms of education in synagogues for people of Jewish faith. In Ireland, it has been traditional to make faith preparation an essential and integral part of a Catholic school. In multidenominational schools, it obviously will be for the VEC, the school board and the parents to decide whether this should be done by making available the premises of the school. Agreement can be reached whereby the school premises are made available for parents who wish to have their children partake of Holy Communion and Confirmation. It could be arranged, for example, to have that faith formation and those particular ceremonies take place after hours. Such solutions are eminently possible and would reflect the broad level of diversity that exists in areas like my constituency. I hope the Bill will facilitate and recognise those types of solutions. Moreover, I hope the diverse ethnicities and faiths of parents and pupils will be represented on VEC boards of management. That will strengthen the multidenominational aspect of schools.

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