Uk & Irish Education Acts

edgal

Is the education act 1996 in the UK applicable to Irish law, or do we just have the education act 1998 in Ireland?

I am trying to apply a section of the Uk act which states that schools cannot discriminate.
I am sure this is present in the Irish act, however I am unable to find it, can someone refer me to this section?

Also are there any European treaties with reference to education?

seamus

A UK law is not applicable in Ireland.

Religious schools enjoy a special status in Ireland which allows them to discriminate against teachers and pupils on the basis of religion.

Peregrinus

It’s the Equal Status Acts, not the Education Act, which regulate discrimination in schools (and elsewhere). The Equal Status Acts contain sweeping prohibitions on discrimination on the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community, but then create a slew of exceptions which apply to various institutions and in various situations.

The exemptions specific to schools are:

Gender: It’s lawful to operate a single-sex school.
Religion: Schools which have the objective of providing education in a particular religious environment can give preference to applicants of a particular denomination, and can even exclude entirely an applicant not of that denomination, if they can prove this is necessary to maintain the ethos of the school.
Gender, disability and age: “Reasonably necessary” differences in treatment are allowed in schools in relation to access to sporting facilities and events.

There's additional relevant legislation in the Education (Welfare) Act 2004 and in the Disability Act 2005.

What form of discrimination were you thinking about?