Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for this Commencement debate.

Recently, I had the honour of speaking at the launch of Equate, a new non-governmental organisation dealing with children's rights and education reform. I welcome Mr. Michael Barron and his team to the Visitors' Gallery. Equate wants to see an education system that reflects the diversity of 21st century Ireland and a child-centred approach to education reform. As the Minister will be aware, this was a key recommendation of Dáil na nÓg in November last. Indeed, the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, invited the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to debate this with the participants of Dáil na nÓg. I commend his recommendation on the importance of hearing children's voices with respect to education and school policies because, all too often in the debate on education, it is the adults who speak and we do not listen to the young people and children who are directly involved.

The Minister was before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child last Thursday last in Geneva, and I commend him on his performance there. As we all will be aware, the test results will come out in early February with the concluding observations by the committee. On behalf of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, I had the honour of travelling there to observe. First, I commend the Minister on the fact that we sent such a strong delegation of officials from across Departments, because it shows that we recognise the importance of the UN process and ensures that we can give accurate and appropriate answers and track our progress.

As the Minister will be aware, especially in light of the international experts who make up the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ireland was under serious scrutiny concerning schools admission policies and it was hard to avoid the difficult questions. For too long we have allowed schools to operate in a way that breaches our children's rights, including those specified under the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. These violations occur in a number of guises, including the disproportionate religious patronage of schools and enrolment inequality which results in a lack of access and choice for parents. Indeed, another issue that came up at the UN committee is the right of transgender children to be protected and respected in all schools.

The lack of pluralism in the education system is a serious human rights issue affecting many families, and successive UN Human Rights Committees have voiced their concerns to Ireland in this regard. Specifically, on Thursday last, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child asked questions about the denominational structure of the education system, which creates difficulties for families who want to educate their children in a non-denominational setting. They also wanted to know about our policies promoting inclusive education.

In preparation for Ireland's hearing in June last, a delegation of young people travelled to Geneva to meet the committee members and talk about their experiences. As we often see when we stop and listen to young people, they were articulate, confident and open. One of them spoke about his experience in a religious school as a non-religious person. This is a voice we do not hear enough in the Irish debate about education reform, and I am worried that if we do not start to include the voices of young people, we will not achieve a reformed system that puts the needs of children front and centre.

As legislators, we must engage with these growing concerns and deliver the reform necessary to ensure that all children are welcome in our schools. I believe the time is right for change. We should not be doing it only because the UN Committee on the Rights of the Children or other UN bodies do it. We should be doing it because children and parents are telling us it is the right thing to do. It is time to have equality in our classrooms and make it a reality. I sought this debate because I want to know what progress has been made in setting up arrangements between the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills to ensure that the best interests and the voice of the child are at the centre of a more diverse and pluralist educational system.