School not biased against Travellers, court finds

THE HIGH Court has found there was no particular discrimination against Travellers in a school’s admissions policy that gave priority to the children of former pupils.

Mary Stokes, in an action taken on behalf of her son John (14), claimed the CBS High School in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, was guilty of “indirect discrimination” in refusing a place to her son, based on the admission criterion favouring sons of previous pupils.

The Stokes family argued that because discrimination against Travellers was historical and widespread, it was difficult, if not impossible, for members of the community to overcome such an enrolment criterion.

They argued that many Traveller parents had not attended any secondary school, making it extremely difficult for them as a community if such a criterion was allowed to stand.

John had applied in November 2009 to attend the CBS High School, having attended a local primary school in Clonmel, but there were 174 applications for 140 available places, the school said.

The school said it selected students on the basis of its admissions policy which was based on three criteria: that the child’s father or an older sibling had attended the school, that the child was Catholic and that he had attended a local primary school.

John met the last two criteria but, as he was the oldest in his family and his father had not attended the school, he was not admitted and instead had to go to school 20 miles away in Fethard.

Ms Stokes unsuccessfully appealed the school’s refusal to the Department of Education before appealing to the Equality Tribunal that requiring a parent to have previously attended the school disproportionately affected Travellers.

The Equality Tribunal gave a determination in favour of Ms Stokes but the school appealed the decision to Clonmel Circuit Court last July.

In the Circuit Court, Judge Thomas Teahon allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the equality officer.

Judge Teahon said he was satisfied the parental rule was discriminatory against Travellers but also against others including immigrants such as Polish and Nigerian applicants, whose parents were unlikely to have attended the school previously. He ruled that the parental rule created a balanced and proportionate admissions policy.

In the High Court yesterday, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy refused to overturn the lower court’s decision. While he said he would publish his detailed judgment later, Mr Justice McCarthy said the discrimination was not suffered by Travellers in particular, as others were in the same position. Accordingly, he would not be making the order sought by the Stokes family.

Counsel for the CBS High School told the court the school would not be applying for costs against Ms Stokes.

Ms Stokes, who is expecting a baby, was not in court. She was represented by her husband John, and by the Irish Traveller Movement independent law centre.

Outside the court, Siobhán Comiskey, solicitor with the law centre, said the movement respected the court’s judgment but was “disappointed with the outcome”. She added that it was “time now for a more inclusive education system in Ireland”.

Ms Comiskey said the school’s admissions policy “compounds the past discrimination suffered by Travellers and carries it through to the next generation”.

The family had not yet thought about an appeal but the law centre hoped to take time to consider the decision of the court.

She said it was a “struggle and a perseverance” for the family to get this far and they had done so in the realisation that should they win, they would better the lot of all Travellers.