A chara, - As our school's maintenance party met on Saturday last, we were astonished to read Bishop Michael Smith's assertion (May 27th) that the funding for all schools is the same, regardless of ethos. It is not.
We have operated a multi-denominational school for over five years in Dublin under what the Department of Education and Science terms "Provisional Recognition". Every Catholic school automatically receives "Permanent Recognition" and as such enjoys a significant advantage over multi-denominational schools. As a direct result, our school maintenance party has had to work weekend after weekend over the last five summers, not only to look after essential maintenance but also to pursue major projects converting less than suitable spaces for classroom use.
We presume that Bishop Smith is in favour of a level playing field in education; we would like any playing field, level or otherwise. Will he encourage other Catholic dioceses to free up land designated for educational purposes rather than selling it for enormous profit? Will he release that land to other educators who can and will use it? - Yours, etc.,
Alan Walker, Chairperson, Board of Management, Tom Canning, Patron Executive, Griffith Barracks National School, Dublin.