TRANSFER OF SCHOOL patronage is already a hot topic. Some people see
Fr Michael Drumm, brother of the former HSE boss Brendan, as the face of
Catholic resistance.
Others say he is simply a voice of reason on a
complex issue.
Either way, Drumm is poised to become one of the
best-known figures in Irish education over the next year.
As
chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership, an umbrella support group
for those involved in Catholic education, Drumm is essentially a
spokesman for the side that stands to lose in the proposed patronage
shake-up.
He is representing the Catholic stakeholders at the Forum of
Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector.
Almost 90 per cent
of the State’s 3,000 primary schools are run by the Catholic Church.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn envisages that 50 per cent of these
could be transferred to other patrons, and he wants the process to start
quickly, by January next year.
A position paper that Drumm
launched last month counselled caution. In response to the figure of 50
per cent, he pointed out that nobody has a real idea of what the final
percentage will be but speculated that it could be closer to 10 per
cent.
The timeline was unrealistic, too, he warned. Drumm stressed
the importance of consultation with schools and parents, urging a
bottom-up rather than a top-down approach when deciding whether
patronage needs to be transferred.
The tone taken was measured,
but response to the position paper was hugely divided.
“Drumm is a soft
face for the hard-line,” says one source. “This is the bishops’ attempt
to take control of the issue. Sure, it all sounds very reasonable, and
they say they’re more than happy to divest patronage, but the conditions
they’re sticking on to that mean that it’s never going to happen.”
“If
this were to become a game of percentages it would be a disaster,” says
another. “Schools and communities are much more complex than that.
Drumm is simply being realistic. Quinn’s proposals and the timeline
involved are not well thought out.”
The real story, others
speculate, is somewhere in between: that Drumm is the man to move things
forward without alienating the more conservative elements within the
church.
“People have no idea of the diversity of opinion within Catholic
education itself,” says one observer.
“There are huge differences in
how different bishops and dioceses view schools. In some places the
chairpersons of school boards of management are mainly lay people
because the bishops have seen the writing on the wall and have an open
attitude. In others nothing has changed.”
“Some of the bishops are
princes in their own kingdoms, answerable only to Rome,” says another.
“They refuse to acknowledge the inevitable. Drumm’s job is to represent
all of these different people while bringing everyone along.”
With
the patronage debate simmering – even before it becomes a real issue
for schools and parents to negotiate – there is little doubt that Drumm
is about to become very well known indeed. In the small world of Irish
education he has, up to now, kept quite a low profile.
“Ah, the mystery
man!” exclaims one education insider when his name is mentioned.
“He’s
quiet and unassuming,” says a colleague. “He’s a very good spokesperson
when approached. He just wouldn’t be one to blow his own trumpet.”
From
Manorhamilton, in Co Leitrim, Drumm was the youngest of six. His father
managed a creamery and his mother worked at home. His father was
involved in the somewhat controversial establishment of the local
comprehensive school before the family moved to Sligo.
Despite
having no history of second level education in the family, the children
were high achievers. Two brothers became doctors, including Brendan;
another brother also joined the priesthood. One sister works in a bank
and another became a teacher.
Drumm was ordained in 1986. He was a
stellar student, gaining a first-class degree in history and philosophy
from University College Cork as well as graduating top of his HDip
class in Galway. He also studied theology as a postgraduate student in
Rome.
As a lecturer at Mater Dei Institute of Education, in
Dublin, he carved out a reputation as a distinguished sacramental
theologian, writing a number of books on the subject. He took over as
the institute’s director in 2000, just after it became a college of
Dublin City University, and he has overseen the strengthening of links
between the two institutions.
“His experience in Mater Dei will
stand him in very good stead in his current role,” says a colleague. “He
came into contact with all areas of education, and he has a very deep
knowledge not only of current issues but also of the history involved.
He really understands how things came to be in education.”
The
patronage debate was essentially triggered by the Irish National
Teachers’ Organisation some years ago, and continued by Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin, who acknowledged that the church was over-represented
in Irish education.
Much has been made of the divide between what
Martin has said and the Catholic Schools Partnership’s position paper,
which was seen by some as a rowing back by the rest of the hierarchy.
Most agree, however, that the real challenge in the patronage debate is
not in the differences among the Catholic stakeholders but in what will
happen when communities and parents have to discuss the transfer of
patronage as it applies to their schools.
“I certainly think there
will be a difference in how this issue of the transfer of patronage
received on the ground,” says one observer.
“Divesting of patronage
might be fine in Dublin 4, but it may be an issue of great difficulty
in, say, Castlebar or Tralee. If you have five schools in a town, who
gets transferred to State control? I suspect there will be a large
element of Nimbyism throughout all of this.”
Everyone, including
the Catholic Schools Partnership, acknowledges that change is
inevitable.
The extent of the change and how it will come about is to be
decided by the patronage forum.
“Drumm has displayed great leadership
in the CSP role so far,” says a colleague. “You simply aren’t going to
please everybody in a situation like this, but if you talk to everybody,
even those people with whom you dont agree, you take the sting out of
the change. Drumm talks to everybody, he listens to everybody and then
he takes the lead. That’s his real strength.”
The Catholic Schools Partnership position
The
Catholic Schools Partnership was established in 2009 by the Episcopal
Conference and the Conference of Religious in Ireland.
Chaired by Fr
Michael Drumm, the CSP council has 32 other members, representing
dioceses and Catholic schools and organisations.
The position
paper was written after eight months of consultation with stakeholders.
It sets out a vision for Catholic education and emphasises the need for
an ideological as well as a practical debate, making the point that
there is “no such thing as a value neutral education”.
It also warns
against imposing changes to patronage on schools against their will and
urges a consultative, bottom-up approach.
The paper backs a series
of pilot projects to examine public demand for change, but notes the
logistical difficulties and the costs involved in school transfer.
It
does, however, accept that there were areas where existing schools may
no longer be viable as Catholic institutions.
“In such situations the
Catholic patron, in dialogue with the local community, should plan for
greater diversity of school provision in that area. If sufficient demand
for a school under different patronage can be demonstrated then all of
the stakeholders should work in partnership towards this goal.”
The
paper was published as part of an ongoing consultation process on the
future of Catholic schools in the Republic of Ireland.
The results of
this consultation will be analysed at four regional assemblies in June,
after which the Catholic Schools Partnership will present the findings
of its research to the public.