Minister for Children and Youth Affairs James Reilly has said that putting an end to ‘religious discrimination’ in school admission policies could require a constitutional referendum.
The Minister spoke yesterday of his belief that it is ‘not right’ for children’s religious beliefs to be taken into account when allotting places in State-funded schools, although the Constitution technically allows for this.
“These schools are provide by the State. They are paid for by the State. I don’t believe it’s appropriate that a child should have to be baptised to go to school,” he said.
He went on to reference Article 44.2.5 of Ireland’s Constitution, which states that religious institutions have the right to protect their ethos, and said that this legislation would need to be changed in order to stamp out religious discrimination relating to the school admissions system.
Minister Reilly’s comments came on the same day that Fianna Fáil revealed the core of its proposed education policy: that school places will be allocated based on a child’s locality as opposed to their religion.
The Minister’s comments are also rather timely, given that children’s rights have been a hot topic here this week. On Thursday, a United Nations Committee carried out an in-depth examination of Ireland’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
