Parents who send children to private schools are not getting 'any real bounce for their buck,' according to Ciara Kelly.
The Newstalk Breakfast host was speaking after a new study found fee-charging schools are 'no better' for pupils chasing high college points.
The UCD School of Psychology study tracked the progress of more than 3,000 people at different stages in their education up to the Leaving Certificate.
It suggested that, if fee-charging schools are adding anything to Leaving Cert performance above and beyond State schools, it is 'relatively modest'.
View this post on Instagram
Ciara said the findings prove what she already knew.
"Whether they need to pay the fees to get the best Leaving Cert has always been debatable," she said.
"I think this probably answers the question - that they don't; that their kids would do just as well in State schools.
"It doesn't mean they don't have a right to; doesn't mean that lots of people still wouldn't choose to.
"I get it, but I think this kind of says what I would have thought about it anyway.
Ciara questioned why anybody would send their children to private school, since they're "not getting any real bounce for your buck."
"I actually won a scholarship to a private school and I refused to go," she added.
A group of primary school children during a school assembly. Picture by: NorthScape / Alamy Stock PhotoShane Coleman said the private school question is mostly an issue in Dublin and Cork.
"I personally favour the idea of State schools," he said.
"I like the idea of the social mix; I like the idea that maybe kids who are from families where education is prized, that they actually act as an example to other kids.
"I have lots of friends who send their kids to private schools and they often make the point to me: 'I'd love to send my kid to a State school, but there wasn't one in the area'.
"It's kind of a Dublin and a Cork issue.
"In Dundalk, there was one private school but it was very small at the time.
"It is mainly a Dublin issue," he added.
