6 Feb 2017, 15:41
6 February 2017
The Joint Committee on Education and Skills will meet tomorrow to consider the provisions of the Equal Status (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016. The Committee will hear from representatives of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS), the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), An Foras Pátrúnachta, the General Synod Board of Education of the Church of Ireland (GSBECI), the Muslim Primary Education Board (MPEB) and the Joint Management Body.
The meeting will commence at 4.00pm in Committee Room 2 tomorrow, Tuesday, 7 February 2017.
Committee Chairperson, Fiona O’Loughlin TD, said “The stated aim of this piece of legislation is to provide for certain changes in relation to discrimination, on grounds of religion, in certain educational establishments, and amends the Equal Status Act 2000. Access to education is a Constitutional right and any barrier to entry on religious grounds is something which needs to be addressed in a changing society.”
“Tomorrow, we will have the chance to discuss the issue with a number of educational management bodies and hear their views on the provisions of the Equal Status (Admission to Schools) Bill. A number of common issues have been debated by the Committee previously, not least in the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill, and tomorrow we look forward to hearing further expert opinion from these management bodies and gaining further insight into what is an important issue for students, parents and teachers around the country. As a Committee, the learnings gained through meetings like these allow for recommendations to be made in influencing proposed legislation.”
Follow the progress of the Equal Status (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 here.
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends