Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of religious discrimination in our education system and ask for the Minister for Education to provide the House with an update on what the Government intends to do to address it. Article 44.2.4° of the Constitution states "Legislation providing State aid for schools shall not discriminate between schools under the management of different religious denominations, nor be such as to affect prejudicially the right of any child to attend a school receiving public money without attending religious instruction at that school." I am constantly told stories from up and down the country of children doing busy work in classrooms where the other children are predominantly of one religion, that being, Catholic. That is also a cultural phenomenon. We need to address the issue beyond giving children a colouring book in a corner and making them feel isolated from their peers. It is not good enough in this day and age.

The newest schools are the most impacted by a lack of buildings. The Galway Educate Together Secondary School, which is the first Educate Together secondary school in Galway, only has first and second years. It will have a reduced intake next year. That will be the last year it will have any intake. We do not know what will happen for the children beyond first and second year. The school would have been able to take 72 pupils had it a proper building, but it can only take 48. This means that fewer children from different religious backgrounds can access the school. We need to see the urgent delivery of a school building.