Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I inquire about the status of the School Admissions Bill. On the anniversary of publication of its school admissions Bill to deal with the baptism barrier, the Labour Party is dependent on the Government to allow Government time to allow the Bill to proceed. It is not offering a perfect solution in dealing with the baptism barrier, but it would prioritise geography over religion in school admissions. The Government's Bill is a classic case of bending the knee to powerful interests, including the Catholic Church and the fee-paying school body, in that it completely side-steps the baptism barrier issue and allows the continuation of the right of children of past pupils of fee-paying schools to attend the school attended by their parents. In its Bill the Labour Party proposes that 10% of the school body be made up of such students, but Fine Gael believes the figure should be set at 25%. Any rational thinking person would not allow such a provision to be included at all. It is unbelievable a school would demand that a particular number of children of past pupils be accommodated. How is a student whose parents did not attend second level education to gain admission to a school? Such students should not have to compete for a place with a student who has an absolute entitlement through a royal blood line to attend a school. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House to discuss the status of the Government's watered down School Admissions Bill and the Labour Party's Bill which was published this day last year and would deal in some way with the baptism barrier? While it would not do so to the satisfaction of many, it seeks to improve the position by prioritising geography over religion. This is an issue that affects a huge number of children in the State. When it comes to vested interests, Fine Gael always bends the knee. There is no reason the Labour Party's Bill cannot proceed to the next Stage. I implore the Leader, therefore, to encourage the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House to enable us to discuss the matter further.