Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While changes to the Equal Status Act are a matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality, the question raised by the Deputy is related to school admission policies. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to publish a new school admissions and excellence legislation, taking account of current draft proposals.

The published draft legislation for school admissions did not envisage any change to the Equal Status Act. This is a complex area to legislate for and I note that the previous Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, when considering the issue, acknowledged the potential tension between Article 42 of the Constitution on education and Article 44 on religion. Progressing the new admissions legislation will provide the Oireachtas with an opportunity to tease out these issues. I look forward to working with Members on the basis of partnership.

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