Richard Bruton to tackle ‘baptism barrier’ in schools
He faced criticism last year when his bill on school admissions did not deal with the ‘baptism barrier’ under which parents in some communities can not enrol their children in local primary schools unless they have been baptised in the Catholic church.
Ahead of announcing a consultation on how to deal with the problem, he said this pressure to baptise their children is unfair. He wants members of the public and groups which might be affected to submit their views on a number of options before deciding how to proceed.
