Labour has introduced a Bill to ban single sex schools within 15 years.
The opposition party believes it is unacceptable for the State to be funding the antiquated notion of girls or boys only schools.
And so the Bill would see all State funding removed from any schools that don’t comply with mixed admissions.
The lead-in time for primary schools would be 10 years and it would be 15 years for secondary schools to get their houses in order.
It would have major implications for the country’s private school sector, the vast majority of which are single-gender, but all of which get the basic salaries of teachers paid by the State.
Labour spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said: “The fact that so many of our schools are still separated by gender sends the wrong message to children at a young age about gender equality.
“At a local level, parents are questioning the status quo with most having a preference for mixed gender schools where possible.
“Schools are supposed to reflect the society that they serve.
“The Department of Education has not given sanction to any new single gender school since 1998 – making mixed gender schools already effectively the policy of the Department.
“This Bill is about addressing the legacy of single gender schools and move to fully gender integrated schools within 10 years at primary level and 15 years at secondary level.
“Ireland stands almost alone with our gender segregation system and we are out of kilter with the rest of the European world.
“While the conversation is rightly happening about the nature of gender equality in our society, education must be a feature of this.
“Bringing our education system into the 21st century would have broader benefits for students.
“For example, at a secondary school level, we all know that in single gender schools that subject choice can be extremely limited leading to restricted subject choice and gender stereotyping in too many of our second level schools.
“Segregation also makes it more challenging to break down barriers to gender equality when we separate boys and girls.”
