THE Education Bill is an attempt to give a legislative basis to the Irish education system. No one has any difficulty with placing our education system on a proper statutory footing. However, the Bill as presented by the Minister involves more than that.

It proposes the establishment of a new intermediate tier in Irish education, 10 regional education boards.

But far from representing a radical devolution of authority from the top down, this Bill reinforces and strengthens ministerial control. The Minister will, for example, have the power to specify the maximum amount of net expenditure "that may be incurred by the board for a financial year".

Ministerial sanction will also be required for the purchase, sale or leasing of any land or premises by the new boards. In addition, the Minister will have the power to "designate for employment" by an education board employees of the Minister or of a VEC. The board itself will have no choice but to accept persons so designated.

More alarmingly, the Minister, under the terms of this Bill, will have the power to reject or amend an operational plan submitted by a regional board.

The section of the Bill dealing with the inspectorate and its role on the education boards is also worrying. In my opinion, the inspectors will operate as the Minister's policemen in regional board areas. They will be seconded to the boards by the Minister and the Minister can at any time "resume control and direction of any Inspector who has been seconded to an Education Board".

Inspectors will also conduct assessments of the education and psychological needs of students in general. This has worrying implications for the development of a national psychological service. I am not convinced that the inspectorate is the best-equipped body to oversee and develop such a service.

The powers of the director of a new regional board are also very significant, on a par with if not even greater than those enjoyed by a county manager. The powers of board members, however, will not be on a par with those of local elected representatives. There is a clear imbalance here. In my opinion if the Minister really desired democratic accountability then primacy should have been given in the Bill to board members rather than the Minister and the director.

The role of school principal as outlined in the Bill is also very limited and represents a real reduction in the status and range of duties which are currently the norm in schools throughout the system. In short, the principal is given no leadership role whatsoever.

Even the school board of management will not have a school policy function or authority. It will have to perform functions "in accordance with the policies determined by the education board and the Minister from time to time"

Clearly, following the implementation of this Bill, school boards of management will have less autonomy and freedom of manoeuvre than they currently enjoy. In short, this Bill is the very antithesis of true devolution of authority and responsibility.

There has been much controversy concerning the appeals system contained in the Bill. The system required by the structure outlined in the Bill is hopelessly vague and weak on procedures. It needs very careful examination.

In my opinion the establishment of an education ombudsman should be considered to deal with all complaints from primary to third-level education. Alternatively, my preference would be for the establishment of an independent appeals system that would be separate from vested interests.

I support the statutory recognition given to the right of parents to sit on school boards of management and the recognition of the National Parents' Council. The provisions dealing with access to information and school records are also very welcome. Parental involvement in Irish education has grown dramatically, and legislative recognition of this was an imperative.

Change is certainly required. But change can occur in different ways. This Bill is designed to reorganise the administrative structure of Irish education in one way. I would suggest that there are other more radical ways of reforming the system.

Firstly, an independent national educational psychological service should be established free from the internal constraints of the Department. Secondly, overall control of the State examinations could be delegated to the National Curriculum and Assessment Council. Thirdly, there is clearly a need for a radical overhaul of the internal organisational structure of the Department.

Fianna Fail will pursue radical change in Irish education over the next decade. We will not, however, be totally obsessed with bureaucratic and structural change alone. There are far more immediate and important priorities. We are determined, for example, that our schools be equipped to embrace the information and technological revolution.

The problem of early school-leavers must be given top priority. Curriculum reform must be ongoing. In particular, the content of our language syllabuses and the way we teach and assess languages must be radically altered. The elimination of inequality and disadvantage cannot wait for the establishment of regional education boards and must have first call on available resources.