Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The education part of the programme for Government has a section entitled, Diversity and Choice for Parents. It states "[w]e need a dynamic and innovative education system that reflects the diversity of Twenty First Century Ireland" which will "[reflect] the need in modern Ireland for new forms of multi-denominational and non-denominational [schools]". What is happening on the ground flies directly in the face of that stated objective. Five Educate Together schools throughout the country, including the Trim Educate Together school in my county of Meath, have been instructed by the Department of Education and Skills to adopt a half-stream only enrolment policy this year which will restrict them to enrolling only 13 students. The Department has tried to deflect by stating a study from five years ago claims there is no demand, but Emma O'Kelly of RTÉ, caught it out this morning on "Morning Ireland" on its misquote. On the impact on existing schools, they exist. The Minister knows that the school in Trim has been operating out of a golf club on Kildalkey Road for the past four years because I raised the issue with him last year. Will the Government back its pledge to have a dynamic and innovative education system and reverse this discriminatory half-stream policy for Educate Together schools?

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