Sir, – I am delighted that so many of my fellow citizens, business and community leaders, activists, charities, unions and teachers were all vocal in their support for the amendment to the Constitution.
It is evident from the amount of soul-searching and earnest debating that we as a country had an honest dialogue about what we want for all of our citizens.
If only the same political will, enthusiasm and honest dialogue could emerge regarding the last remaining place where it is still legal to discriminate on a daily basis in this country – entry to our state-funded schools.
For the purpose of access to free education in this country it is illegal to discriminate against a child on the grounds of their skin colour, ethnicity or sexuality but you can, by asking for evidence of a baptismal certificate (and they do) discriminate against every five-year-old child in the country on the basis of their religion. Why aren’t our leaders in Government pushing to end this most insidious of practices?
My faith is as integral to my being as is my sexual orientation yet this State continues to condone, by its inaction and silence, the discrimination of my children when it comes to access to our state-funded schools and the content of the curriculum.
Perhaps with their successful experience behind them, members of the Yes campaign could help bring about change such as the removal of the clause in the Equal Status Act that allows primary and second-level schools give preference in admissions to students of a particular faith or bring in constitutional reform that will end the religious discrimination that exists today. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA MAHER,
Goatstown,
Dublin 14.