Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister's bona fides in this as well. I know there will be learnings from the pilot divestment programmes. However, we must acknowledge that those whose agenda is to keep the status quoknow what buttons to press with the local parental body. They know what to say, and they know about information and disinformation. They know how to shrug their shoulders when questions are asked. They know about timelines being truncated so that people feel under pressure to make a decision. They know that the issue of the mixing of genders is being overlapped with the divestment from one patron to another. Again, I state bluntly to the Minister that it is ridiculous, in any geographic location, that those who have the say are those whose children are currently in school and those whose children are not currently in school, who could be facing it and looking right across the road at it, have no say in this process whatsoever. That has to change. I think the Minister will acknowledge that.

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