THE Equality Authority has warned that the Catholic-first school enrolment policy could be in breach of Irish and EU anti-discrimination laws. Chief Executive Niall Crowley has written to Education Minister Mary Hanafin and the Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin warning that they are on unsafe legal ground.
The authority is reacting to the controversy over all-black enrolment in a new school in Balbriggan, Co Dublin catering for about 50 pupils for whom no place was available in other schools in the area.
The controversy put the spotlight on the Catholic Church's Catholics-and-siblings-first policy which, where demand outstrips the supply of places, can leave non-Catholic children at the bottom of the priority list.
Specifically, the authority, which has a role in advising on legislative matters in the equality area warned: lThe State must provide education in a manner which does not discriminate on religion or race grounds; lThe Church cannot rely on preservation of religious ethos to defend a claim of discrimination where schools are over-subscribed.
Segregation
Mr Crowley said they were concerned about the emergence in effect of segregated primary school provision for black and minority ethnic students.
He noted the requirement on pupils to present their baptismal certificates to gain access to Catholic primary schools and of inadequate provision of schooling generally to cater for the diversity of pupils.
Legally, he said that such a policy may result in causing direct discrimination by: l Breaching the Equal Status Acts 2000-2004 -- contrary to the view that such legislation allows for exemptions on religious ethos grounds; l Flying in the face of the EU Race Directive, which takes precedence over national legislation.
Mr Crowley said that the policy ran counter to the Government's commitment to integration as set out in the National Action plan Against Racism.
He warned that segregation can stigmatise pupils and is often associated with poor educational outcomes. He said provision of denominational education may be deemed to be a legitimate aim in some contexts, although there may be a difficulty in establishing a legitimate aim, where parents are having their children baptised solely for the purposes of school admission.
"However, there must be a concern as to whether the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary in a context where the outcome is one of segregation for black and minority ethnic students.''
He pointed out that in most cases denominational schools will admit students of a different religion if there are places available in a class.
Mr Crowley said under Section 5 of the Equal Status Acts, which deals with the provision of services, the State could not discriminate religious grounds.
He also referred to Section 7, relating to exemptions from the provisions of the legislation where it is "essential to maintain the ethos of the school", but says its meaning "is not as clear as has been portrayed in recent reports".
Meanwhile, Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) general secretary John Carr said no child should be excluded from any school because of religion or race. Minister Mary Hanafin said she would be discussing the matter with the Minister for Justice as this was the first time that there had been a reference to a European directive on race.
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