Breathnach asked to explain policy again to Dail body

THE Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, is to be called to reappear before a pail committee to explain her policy on recognising all Irish schools.

Members of the joint Oireachtas Committee on Irish Affairs are said to be unhappy at the response given by the Minister and her officials when they appeared before the committee in late July.

At that time, the Department appeared to indicate it had not changed its rules on recognising new all Irish schools.

However, Gaelscoileanna, the umbrella body for all Irish schools, has insisted that the regulations that schools must have at least 20 new pupils in, any one year to achieve recognition is a new one.

Previously, new schools were allowed to accumulate the 20 pupils over a number of years.

The chairman of the Dail committee, Mr Dinny McGinley, has written to Ms Breathnach asking tier to appear once again in order to clarify her Department's position.

Meanwhile, Gaelscoilleanna has repeated its call to the Minister for a reversal of her decision not to sanction four new all Irish schools.

The organisation says the schools in Ballybrack, Clones, Maynooth and Enniscorthy - opened last month with an average of 25 pupils each. This showed that concerns about their viability were "unfounded" it said.

The spokeswoman for Gaelscoileanna, Ms Jacqueline Ni Sheargusa, said yesterday that the Minister's decision had placed an appalling financial burden on the parents of the 104 children involved.

Mr Gearoid O Caireallain, president of Conradh na Gaeilge, accused Ms Breathnach of breaking promises on the early recognition of all Irish schools made in the White Paper on Education and the Programme for Government.