Plea to Minister on mixed schools

The Minister for Education is coming under pressure from backbench Labour TDs to give greater assistance to multi denominational schools.

A deputation of Dublin Labour TDs last week met Ms Breathnach to press the case for more help for the sector. The TDs appealed to the Minister to make it easier for multi denominational schools to acquire sites.

They also expressed concern about the level of funding the Department of Education provides for Educate Together, the umbrella body for multi denominational schools. ET says it may have to close unless its current grant of £2,000 is increased.

One of the TDs, Ms Roisin Shortall, said not much progress had been made to improve the situation of multi denominational schools in relation to other sectors.

She said parents seeking a nondenominational education for their children generally found it impossible to raise the £300,000-£400,000 needed to purchase a site. Educate Together should be funded as a sector in its own right, instead of on the basis of how many pupils were in its schools.

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) has described the case of Crumlin multi denominational school, which is currently facing eviction, as a "classic example" of discriminatory funding arrangements in Irish primary schools.

"This is a school serving a disadvantaged community in a disadvantaged area," said the INTO general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole. "They do not have the resources and money of a church."

Senator O'Toole said it would make more sense for the Department to lease or rent property for schools. Instead of giving large grants to churches and other bodies to build schools the tax payer would never own, the equivalent money would be paid towards rental or leasing costs.

The building housing the school, in Kilmainham, is being redeveloped by its owners, Zoe Developments, as apartments. Zoe has warned the guarantors of the schools they will be personally liable for any costs involved in the eviction.

All efforts by the Crumlin school to find alternative premises have failed, even though its says there are many unused State owned buildings in the area. The chairman of the board of management, Mr Tom Canning, said the board would seek to join the Minister in any legal proceedings brought against the school.