Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

I propose to share time with Senator Healy Eames. I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the publication of the report and I congratulate the Chairman and members of the panel. Following the report, the Minister stated that there was general acceptance that a greater diversity of primary schooling is necessary. I welcome the readiness of the partners to do this. I also welcome the fact that the concept and reality of diversity in our primary education system is accepted and solutions are being discussed and explored. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has been saying this for a long time. While attending the INTO conference in Killarney with my colleague, Senator Healy Eames, who also has a strong background in education, I took the opportunity to discuss the complex and evolving reality with the various partners. I learned much from the discussions.

I support Senator Healy Eames in her comments on the Order of Business about the girl who was not allowed into a school because she was expecting a baby. I have two daughters and I would be vexed if this happened to one of them. It is correct that the matter is highlighted in the House.

We should recognise the outstanding contribution of the parish school to primary education over many years. I hope it will continue. However, we also need to accept that the old ways do not entirely fit the modern, multicultural and multireligious Ireland. It is interesting to note, as Senator Power did, the IPPN report and the comments of its president, Gerry Murphy, who is a long-term colleague of mine. He made the point that most parents do not want the same system to apply but that 67% still want some form of religious education in schools. The report suggests this might be done early in the morning in some schools. It is a good time to teach from the teacher's point of view.