Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister will know, Article 42 of the Constitution concerns the right to education and underpins the right of parents to be the primary educators of their children and to make conscientious decisions with respect to the education their children receive. In accordance with Article 42.4, the Department is responsible for facilitating the education of our children in concert with the rights I have mentioned. The Minister may be wondering why I am bringing up the Constitution in an exchange about the school transport scheme. I will explain. In Clare, our only option for second level education through the medium of Irish is Gaelcholáiste an Chláir in Ennis. It is not a stand-alone school. It is part of Ennis Community College. Unless the parents of students who live further than 4.8 km from the school are in a position to drop them off and collect them every single day, and most people who work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are not, those students will not be able to learn through our first language, which has a proud tradition in Clare. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.

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