The Education Minister is promising that new rules on school admissions will ensure every child is welcome in every school.
But Jan O'Sullivan has confirmed that new laws will still allow schools to hold back 10 per cent of their places to the children of former pupils.
The minister's announced the details at the INTO Congress in County Clare today.
She says the new Bill will guarantee that every child will be seen equally in the eyes of the law:
However schools will still be allowed to discriminate against prospective pupils on the basis of their religion - as the new law will not try to override the laws guaranteeing schools the right to prioritise their own ethos.
The minister also said, however, that separate legislation is being prepared to remove the right of schools to discriminate against LGBT teachers.
Currently schools are allowed to prefer heterosexual teachers on the basis that employing anyone else could undermine their religious ethos.
Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News:
