Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am trying to be consistent regarding the motivation behind the student and parent charter. In the early stages of our extensive consultation with education partners and schools on the charter, we were clear that it would not put an extra administrative burdens on schools. Senator Gavan suggested that it would only involve one email but it is not that simple. There is an administrative requirement. There are 4,000 schools in Ireland.

The point made by the Senator on transparency is already embedded in the legislation. There are guidelines within the Bill to ensure that schools are obliged to make information on the moneys they raise and the subscriptions made available for public consumption. That would achieve the goals which the Senator claims are the motivation behind the amendment which was made on Committee Stage. The last thing I want to do is to put more of an administrative burden on schools and principals. A key term to which I was introduced at a very early stage in this job is "initiative overload". There will be an obligation under the student and parent charter for schools to publish information on any money raised and how it is spent. If there is a better mechanism to ensure that is done in a way that will allay the Senator's fears, I am open to continuing that conversation when the Bill returns to the Dáil.