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

General legislation will provide that schools cannot refuse admission to a child on grounds of religious belief. However, if a school is oversubscribed and there are too many children, the current legislation allows it to choose a child of its denomination over a child who is not of that denomination. A school cannot turn away someone because he or she is Muslim or has special needs and so on. This will be enshrined in legislation. The issue arises where a school is oversubscribed and concerns whether a school of a particular denomination can have, as a criterion for choice, the issue of religious faith. Clearly, that is the issue we will have to discuss at the committee in terms of how it can be done, bearing in mind the right of churches to run schools which is recognised in the Constitution and to protect the ethos of their schools. We need to tease out this issue and I will be happy to do so with the committee. I am sure the Deputy will engage with it.

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