Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I welcome very much the fact that after two years, we are bringing the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 before the Seanad. When the Bill becomes law, it will place an obligation on schools to put together admissions policy statements which do not discriminate on a specific ground and allow the Minister to make regulations on the content of those policies. It is also important to recognise that this Minister has one overarching objective, namely, to ensure that we have a fair and transparent policy on admission to schools.

Senator Ó Ríordáin made some good points in his contribution. I spent 16 years in the classroom, taught a variety of subjects and was very much of the view that it was not a one-size-fits-all curriculum or a matter of the leaving certificate "plus plus". It was about the leaving certificate applied and other parts of the curriculum which brought people together, including the old VEC Youthreach, in which the Cathaoirleach was involved himself. It is not a case that one size fits all. I disagree with Senator Ó Ríordáin on one particular point, however. We all have an "in" regarding education as stakeholders, whether we are parents, educators or legislators. It is wrong to focus on elite fee-paying schools. I did not attend one but I support the right of people to attend schools and I support all students. My record as a public representative and as an educator has been about providing access to education. I was a director of adult education myself and I believe firmly in the power of education and its empowering and transformative potential.

As we speak, we are coming to the tail-end of the leaving and junior certificate examinations and that is probably the most harrowing time of anyone's life as a student or parent. Senator McFadden has probably done the leaving certificate again herself this week. I hope it is going well for her. The Minister has been very committed to ensuring that our schools welcome every person, regardless of religion, colour, disability or ability. That is the point he has been making repeatedly and it is why I have been impressed by him as a Minister. He has an overarching philosophy and a warm, embracing ability to reach out and bring people with him. I commend him for his approach. The Government is committed to diversity in education, which must include all faiths and none. That is the key point. It is a further continuation of a policy change which has been coming for a while. I am also of the view that the education system must be about different forms of patronage. I say that as someone who was educated in a seminary, who taught in a comprehensive and community school and who recognises the value of Educate Together as an example. The last Government and this one have had a commitment to education, which has been very important in allowing Educate Together to maintain a differing viewpoint. In that regard, I note that I see my very good friend, Councillor Brendan Weld, in the Gallery. I welcome him and pay tribute to him for his work in VECs and ETBs in the past. It is critical that we recognise in the context of the Bill also the role the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland have played in education. We must also recognise Gaelscoileanna and the growth of the Gaelscoil movement and its ability to change the mindset around the education of our young people through the medium of Irish.

I welcome the amendments the Minister made in the Dáil on ending the baptismal barrier. He was right when he told the Dáil that it was a very unfair practice. Those of us who were baptised and reared as Catholics recognise the importance of that, but it is bizarre to have children being baptised by parents who feel they must do it. That is no longer the case. I might be in a minority of one in that regard, but I believe it should be changed. The Government is also proposing that oversubscribed schools, which are Catholic in the main, will no longer be able to favour prospective pupils on the grounds of religious adherence, which is right. It is important to look after the minority faiths, in particular that of the Church of Ireland. I speak as someone who recognises the contribution of Church of Ireland schools in Cork where they have a fundamental and clear role.

I welcome the Minister's commitment to consider, following representations, the appropriate time period for phasing out school waiting lists. It is a good move on the Minister's part to have a grace period. I welcome the fact that admissions fees will be banned and that schools will only be allowed to set aside a maximum of 25% of places for past pupils. That is important too. It is clear that the Minister has given this considerable consideration, building on the work of the Oireachtas committee. I commend the Minister on his stewardship of the Bill, which has been a long time in gestation. There was a very good debate on Committee Stage and in the Dáil generally. I commend the Bill to the House.