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

I appeal for the support of the House in not delaying the Bill. There are a lot of good elements in the Bill that I would not like to see lost.

I reiterate what a number of Deputies have already said. We do not want to breach sound educational principles that are embedded in the Bill. We should not have tests of access for parents. That should not be how we decide a child's entry to school. We do not want discrimination creeping in under another name. We want legislation that is robust enough to withstand challenge. We do not want academic ability being the test of access. There are aspects we need to avoid while accommodating this legislation and, having listened to the Deputies' contributions, I believe the Deputies appreciate that this is not a slam-dunk situation. We are trying to balance elements that are reasonably finely poised and we need to be sensitive to the possibilities of getting it wrong.

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