The Irish Department of Education will take into consideration the most direct criticism made by the country’s Catholic bishops of the Department's claimed policy preference for multi-denominational education.Dr O'Reilly, the Bishop of Kilmore, in an address to the Parnell Summer School in Co Wicklow, condemned what the Catholic hierarchy sees as the Department of Education’s “policy assumption” that all secondary schools should be multi-denominational.
He said his church was "committed to denominational education and intended to remain a provider as long as parents choose Catholic schools," and he added: "there seemed to be a policy assumption in the Department of Education that every new school at secondary level should be multi-denominational. We don't accept that should be the case".
He also said the Bishops' Conference was concerned that there was scant reference to school patrons in the new Code of Practice on the Provision of Schools. This seemed to "relegate them to the past and seems to consign their role in school ownership to history".
"I feel that it is important to place on the record - unambiguously - what heretofore could be assumed but now needs to be expressly stated, namely, that the Catholic Church makes no apology for its ongoing presence in education delivery," he said.
Batt O'Keeffe, the spokesman for Minister for Education said: "The matters ... fall into the wider space of the planning for future school provision. They will be considered along with the views of other patron interests, and the wider education partners, as future policy in this area evolves."
O’Reilly went on to demand that his Church be consulted on the provision of all new schools. “Catholic parents should always be free to send their children to Catholic schools. But those who do so in future may have to pay more for the privilege. Unless, that is, they believe the state should fund a comprehensive network of Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Scientology schools as well”.
The Catholic bishops are patrons of more than 90 per cent of primary schools.
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(Source: RelIntel)