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

I move amendment No. 126:

In page 31, to delete lines 13 to 15 and substitute the following:

“(8) When preparing a report an authorised person shall, having regard to the opinion of the Minister stated in the notice under subsection (2) and any representations made to the Minister by the patron or the board pursuant to that notice, do one or more of the following—”.

The purpose of amendment 126 is make clear that an authorised person appointed by the Minister to prepare a report in relation to a board’s non-compliance with the Bill’s requirements must, in preparing that report, take into account both the notice issued by the Minister to the board and patron in relation to such non-compliance and any representations received from the board or patron in relation to that notice.

The wording also clarifies that the authorised person is not required to report on all of the potential non-compliance matters set out in this section. Rather the authorised person shall in his or her report deal only with those matters that are relevant to the school in question. The current wording would require the authorised person to examine each matter of non-compliance listed even where the problem with admission was clearly confined to a particular aspect or aspects of admission in the school.

Amendments Nos 127, 128, 130 and 131 are consequential re-numbering amendments arising from amendment No, 126.

In addition to re-numbering, amendment No. 129 is also a proofing amendment to change the word ‘examine’ to “ascertain” to bring the wording of this provision in line with the wording of the other provisions in this subsection.

See this speech in context