Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Solidarity-PBP for bringing forward this legislation. It is a welcome reminder of the need to do something about this issue. While I agree that there is an issue there that must be solved, Fianna Fáil cannot, unfortunately, support the Bill because, like a great deal of what Solidarity-PBP produces, it goes way too far. By going to the heart of the ethos of a school, whether it is religious or multidenominational, and abolishing it entirely by removing any characteristic spirit, Solidarity-PBP has gone way too far and will not get support in the House.

Everybody agrees that people should be allowed to go to their local schools. However, people also value the ethos of a school and are entitled to look to go to a school which reflects their own ethos. We do not have a system of State schools in this country. Rather, we have a system of patronage for which the State provides. There is a varied system of patronage and choice. There are Catholic schools and, despite all of the commentary, there are still parents who want to send their children to them. There are Protestant schools which are very highly valued by Protestant parents and communities not only for their educational provision, but also for their positive impact on those faith communities. There are multidenominational schools and there are Gaelscoileanna. I asked Deputy Micheál Martin about the idea of characteristic spirit this morning. There is no doubt that it is a much wider concept than that of religious spirit. It goes to the heart of what schools are about and whether they are renowned for a particular sporting activity or, perhaps, an artistic focus. Some schools are really good at engineering, technical subjects and science.

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