Ireland's commitment to pluralism, tolerance and its religious minorities will be tested by the manner in which proposed education cuts are implemented, Church of Ireland bishops have said.
They claimed the cuts could have a dramatically negative impact on small Church of Ireland schools, particularly those in rural areas which cannot be amalgamated.
“No single issue has in recent years caused such a degree of anxiety amongst our communities as this one.
“It is no exaggeration to say that this is a test case of the nation's commitment to its citizens who are members of a religious minority and who for generations have sought to support and enrich the life of the State in an atmosphere of pluralism and tolerance,” they said.
The nine Church of Ireland bishops, who act as patrons of Church of Ireland schools in the Republic, pointed out that of the 174 schools of which they are patrons, 130 have 86 or less pupils and will be directly affected by cuts in teacher numbers.
There was a prospect of 38 of these becoming one teacher schools which would be tantamount to closing them because of curricular and child protection requirements.
The bishops said educational rationalisation does not have to be uniform and in rural areas there was a lack of sensible amalgamation options for Church of Ireland schools “because of the dispersed nature of our people”.
