Denominational schools should no longer have the right to prefer children from their own denomination, the 
Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan (pictured), has said.
In a submission to the Department of Education on draft legislation on school admissions, the Ombudsman also called for an end to preferential access for the children of past pupils, the Irish Times reports.
This right is protected in section 7 of the Equal Status Act, which allows schools to protect their ethos.
The Constitution also acknowledges the right of parents to educate parents according to their religious beliefs, and, in the context of providing free primary education, it undertakes to have “due regard” for this right.
The Constitution also says that the State must “not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status”.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn published the general scheme of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Bill in September, to provide a new regulatory framework for school enrolment procedures and to provide a new appeals mechanism.
In her submission, published yesterday, Ms Logan calls for the end of the general right currently enjoyed by denominational schools to give preferential access to children of their faith.
She says in circumstances where a denominational school is oversubscribed, children not of its denomination, or of none, are at an unfair disadvantage.
“Children should not have preferential access to publicly funded education on the basis of their religion and that the Equal Status Act should reflect that principle.”
However, she is mindful of the Constitutional protection afforded to denominational education. This could be protected, she says, by way of a derogation to be sought from the Minister if a school’s student body was beginning to no longer reflect the school’s denominational ethos.