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

Let me answer. That is the Bill that was drafted to deal with admissions. There is much consensus on how we should deal with, for example, giving powers to the NCSE to designate a place for a pupil with special needs or making it illegal to discriminate on all sorts of grounds in admissions. It is an important Bill. The Dáil decided that the second issue, the issue of how we deal with religion as a criterion for entry to schools, should be dealt with on a different track. Since the Bill was published we have had a broad consultation on the issue. Four options were discussed and we had a forum very recently. What now needs to be done, and what I am doing, is bringing forward and developing amendments that can get the support of the Attorney General as the legal adviser to the Government, and get a broad consensus across the House and the broader education partnership.

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