Religious-run schools and hospitals will be stripped of the ability to sack staff for being gay, divorced, or unmarried parents by Easter, Equality Minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin says.

The importance of creating a positive spirit in schools is key to the success of new anti-bullying procedures, a parents’ leader has said.

Gay rights groups have welcomed proposed laws which would ensure that religious-run schools could not sack a teacher based on their sexuality.