Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the proposers of this practical and pragmatic Bill which is worthy of debate and support. I will come back to the last comment made by the seconder of the Bill, Senator McDowell, my esteemed colleague, which we spoke about on the Order of Business this morning, namely, volunteerism and how important it is to our society, communities, school life and those who are involved in the heart of society. We have to be concerned at the wane of volunteerism, and the fear of litigation is one of those areas that is really stopping people from becoming involved. Therefore, this Bill is timely.

Senator Mullen outlined clearly the concern around litigation that a lot of schools and boards of management have. Boards of management are bodies of volunteers and they put in incredible work on a year-round basis to try to ensure schools are safe and secure places. They seek to ensure children have a good and supportive education and that this education is as inclusive and empowering as possible. They have a lot to deal with and, on top of that, there is a real fear of litigation, particularly in relation to the schoolyard. It is good to put words around it, speak about it and say we need to do more on it. Like the proposer, I know anecdotally of a number of schools and parents who have spoken about situations where their children are told they cannot run or jump in schoolyards for fear of falling. The vast majority of parents would take no action in the event of a potential mishap and it is just part of growing up, but unfortunately there are always the few who will. That is why we have to put safeguards and legislation in place.

The purpose of this Bill is noteworthy: to offer a level of legislative protection to schools engaged in activities while on school premises. Then we have the wider view, which is important. I honestly believe schools should not just be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and just be open during term time. I have a strong belief that school facilities should be used by other social, educational and sporting organisations when we see that the new schools that are being built, in particular, are incredible. Their facilities are second to none and they should be made available to the wider community. I acknowledge that the summer provision happens in schools, which is important and is in the Minister of State's area of responsibility, and that is another good use of schools.

I know the Minister of State, the Department and the Minister, Deputy Foley, support the overall positive objective of this Private Members' Bill and that they feel it is important that greater legal certainty would be provided to schools in terms of supporting how this Bill, if enacted, would help. I am also aware, however, that the Office of the Attorney General has advised that the Bill would benefit from some further analysis and consideration to ensure no unintended consequences arise. I have no doubt the proposer and seconder would be amenable to that.