THE mandatory licensing of every conceivable education course was unworkable, the Minister for Education said.

Ms Breathnach was responding in the Dail to a Fianna Fail private member's bill, moved by the party's education spokesman, Mr Micheal Martin, following the collapse of the privately run Advanced Technology College in Dublin. Mr Martin said that the Private Educational Institutions Bill would require the Minister to license private colleges and compel them to enter into a bond to secure against business failure.

Ms Breathnach said the Bill was "fundamentally flawed" and a knee jerk reaction. It did not address the private nature of secondary schools applying for licences, nor did it define which courses could be included.

The Bill, which was debated on Tuesday and yesterday, was defeated by 67 votes to 54.