I will speak on the Department of Education and Youth's new school survey for parents. Consultation and parental choice are important for our education system but this survey is wholly inadequate. It consists of just seven short questions and it is not necessary even to be a parent to fill it out. We absolutely support multidenominational schools. However, it must be said that there is a constant ideological push against Catholic schools. In reality, the Department's attempts to divest schools from Catholic patronage have failed because in many cases parents are happy with the existing ethos of their school and simply want that to remain in place. There is nothing stopping individuals who are pushing an ideological agenda against Catholic schools from filling out this survey themselves. Parents who contacted me were surprised that they could fill out the survey multiple times simply by switching from their phone to their laptop. That hardly inspires confidence in the reliability or usefulness of the results.

Where are the surveys on issues that are crucial to families such as provision of resources for children with disabilities or autism, as Senator Boyle just raised? I take no issue with a survey being conducted but it seems the Department and the Government in general are more preoccupied with surveys and reviews than actually delivering services. A total of €80 million was spent on reviews in the past three years.

I previously raised the lack of space in St. Aidan's school in Cootehill, County Cavan. By 2026 it will have 700 students, yet a project approved four years ago is still stuck at stage 2B. The same situation prevails in Bailieborough, Virginia and Kingscourt. These schools are looking for additional accommodation and are stuck at stage 2B since being approved four or five years ago.

Parents in these areas would tick the box for any school place they could find. What are the next steps if the survey finds there is a demand for multidenominational schools? I can promise there will be years more of surveys and reviews and nothing built. We need more concrete action in this area.