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Last night the Dail passed legislation to remove the controversial "baptism barrier" from school admissions.
The new legislation requires that children will not need to have been baptised in order to be admitted to Catholic schools. Religious bodies have criticised the move and argue that it breaches their constitutional rights relating to religious freedom. Baptism will only be required in cases where a child of a minority needs to access a school of their ethos.
Speaking to the Dáil, Bruton argued that the legislation was long overdue:
Ireland is changing and we need to change with it. The expectation of citizens around the education system has changed and I think this Bill will go some distance to ensuring that we keep up with those changes.
It's been called a historic move by Thomas Byrne, Fianna Fáil education spokesperson, welcoming the change and describing it as "radical legislation".
A historic moment https://t.co/nFdnkPXCF8
— Education Equality (@edu_equal) May 31, 2018
Independent TDs - Michael Healy-Rae, Mattie McGrath, and Michael Collins - called on a vote but did not have the minimum of 10 TDs to press the issue.
The Seanad is expected to pass the bill and the legislation will be written into law in the coming weeks.
H/T: The Irish Times
