Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. Although I did not mean it in a personal sense, and I hope the Minister knows that, the last day I asked how many members of the Cabinet had private education. As somebody who is still relatively new to here, it strikes me when I meet senior people in the Government or senior civil servants that they did not go to the sort of schools I attended. People who attended fee-paying private schools are predominant in the upper echelons of the Civil Service and the Government. Those are the facts and I speak as a working class boy who never had a prospect of going to private school. I would never dream of sending my kids there anyway on a point of principle.

The fact that the Government seems so intent on stitching in this provision is disgraceful. We speak of equality and we all say we believe in it but in this Bill, the Minister is going out of his way to keep the elite where they are. I am genuinely disappointed as the Minister has demonstrated some determination to reform in this Bill. I acknowledge that. This provision is therefore very disappointing. It is not needed. What possible reason is there for this being included if not the reasons outlined by colleagues in the Labour Party?