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

I thank Senators for their contributions and their general welcome for the Bill.

I wish to deal with the issue that Senators Norris and Gavan raised. Neither Senator was present when we discussed the Bill on the previous occasion. At that time, I pointed out that in considering priority access to a Gaelscoil, we need to use grounds that are rooted in the child. We cannot use grounds that would be rooted in the child's seed, breed and generation, whether he or she has spoken Irish from birth or is a native speaker. The reference to pedigree was a quote from a court case. The judge in that case ruled against a certain proposal because it was based on a principle of pedigree, which appears to have no place in a democratic society committed to the principle of equality. That is the context in which the reference to pedigree arose. In other words, if we want to say that a child who has a high level of competency in Irish, because he or she speaks Irish outside of the school, should get priority access to a Gaelscoil, it cannot be rooted in the parents or something that would perhaps exclude an immigrant parent, people who did not have certain opportunities or broken families. That was the context. It was not being used in the context of any denigration of people. I am sure I may have used the word carelessly but it was rooted in a court ruling on a similar subject.

I will return to Senator Lynn Ruane's proposal. Senator Joe O'Reilly adverted to this point. A section 29 appeal is not really intended to be a first port of call at the first sign of difficulty. Under existing legislation when there is six days of suspension, Tusla education welfare officials are notified. The expectation is that the school will resolve the issue without recourse to an appeal. It is not intended that an appeal under section 29 would be used. Senator Joe O'Reilly described how that process brings matters to national level with a committee, a hearing and the presentation of evidence on both sides. I do not think we want to see section 29 appeals used at the first sign of difficulty in a school in the integration of a child.

I will outline the background to this matter. There is no reference to the number of days in the Act. The current procedures for a section 29 appeal hearing were developed in collaboration with the education partners, including bodies representing parents. It was agreed that 20 days was an appropriate number. We have tried to reflect this in section 29 of the Bill. I assure Senators that in developing new procedures for section 29 appeals, as provided for in the Bill, I will reflect on the matter to ensure that the procedures under which appeals are used are appropriate. If there is an opportunity for further consultation and we need to see some modification I will consider it.

There is a connection between what we are doing in this Bill and the Education (Welfare) Act. Under the Act, a school must notify the education welfare service when the school intends to expel a student. That is the next level up. A student cannot be expelled from school before the passing of 20 days following notification to the education welfare service. During this timeframe, the education welfare service engages with the school and parents of the student. On occasion, the school may decide to suspend the student pending the passing of the 20 days and a final decision being made on expulsion of the student. As a result, the amendment could have the unintended consequence of allowing an appeal to be made during the timeframe when the education welfare service is engaged with the school and the parents of the student. In addition, the amendment could have the unintended consequence of requiring two separate section 29 appeals to be required in some cases. An appeal could be taken on the decision by the school to suspend a student pending a final decision on expulsion, while a further appeal could also be taken if the school decides to expel the student. This would require parents and school representatives to attend two separate appeal hearings in a short period. The amendment could also result in schools moving to consider permanent expulsion sooner in a situation where the school is working with the student and parents to manage the behaviour of the student. The amendment could also potentially interfere with any efforts at mediation between a school and parents where a student has been suspended for several days or several times.

I am not disposed to accept the amendment. The danger with what the Senator is putting forward is that it amounts to using appeal hearings as an early intervention mechanism in a situation where we would hope that the education welfare service, working with the school, the home school liaison officer, if there is one, parents and so on, would come up with solutions. The National Educational Psychological Service would be involved in some situations as well. That is the thinking. Of course, a parent must have a right of appeal. However, we would hope that the right of appeal would be exercised after a great deal of effort has gone in but has not proven successful. At that stage, the issue may have to be escalated to a more formal hearing before what is effectively a national appeals board.