Department of Education removes recognition of post primary parent representative organisation

An organisation for the parents and guardians of students in post primary schools has been de-recognised by the Department of Education because of its refusal to engage with a governance review.

The National Parents’ Council Post Primary (NPCPP) has also had its funding suspended. The National Parents Council, which is a separate organisation, has been asked to extend its remit with immediate effect and support post primary parents.

The NPCPP was established in the late 1990s and acts as an umbrella group for parents associations in the post-primary sector. It receives the bulk of its funding from the Department.

“The Department has an obligation to ensure that all Exchequer funds are accounted for and properly managed and that there is transparency and accountability in the management of public money,” said a spokesperson for the Department.

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In Sept 2022, it awarded a contract to Governance Ireland for an independent expert to conduct a review of the governance and financial arrangements currently applying in the NPCPP, and to make observations and recommendations, the spokesperson said. “The NPCPP’s board has declined to engage with this review process.”

The Department decided that, in the circumstances, to make any further grant payments would be a breach of its obligations and formally notified NPCPP of its decision to cease funding, the spokesperson said.

“The Education Act 1998 Section 2 refers to recognition of ‘national association of parents’, and the Department has also advised the NPCPP that it is no longer a body recognised under this Act. Parent councils or associations in schools are not impacted by this decision.”

No comment was immediately available from NPCPP.

The latest filed accounts for the council are for the financial year 2021, and show income of €228,709. The council had an average of two employees during the year, according to the accounts.