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

Just to clarify, the Labour Party Bill has passed Second Stage but on the basis that its further passage will occur in June of this year, giving the time to the Oireachtas committee on education to evaluate the potential issues with it in the meantime. The committee is currently in the process of evaluating that Bill. Clearly it is appropriate that my Department and the stakeholders that report to it would be in a position to collate views as well so that I, as Minister, can bring the wisdom of the education stakeholders and the Department to bear on the debate that is under way.

This issue is not just confined to one area and it reflects the fact that at primary level, 96% of schools are denominational but at this stage, one third of marriages are occurring outside of any denominational religion. It signals that there are people of no religion who want different educational options. There are also many Catholics who would prefer to see other options being made available. We are responding to change but we need to do it in a way that is sensitive to traditions and to the respect, constitutional and otherwise, for religious, denominational schools and the rights of those schools. That is the importance of this issue.