Sir, Your report of November 29th, entitled INTO rejects plans for governance of primary schools", has caused me considerable alarm. The report concerns an agreement on new measures for the governance of primary schools.
It is not entirely clear from your report what exactly this agreement involves, or what its legal status is. However, your report implies that under the new measures a child may be refused entry to its local national school, if its parents do not belong to the religion of that school. Given that the State's few multi denominational schools are already oversubscribed, I am worried that a child of non religious parents may be refused entry to school.
Our Constitution "cherishes all our children equally". Can an agreement which permits refusal of a place in a publicly funded school to a child, on the basis of its parents' religious or non religious beliefs, be in keeping with our Constitution? I should think not. - Yours, etc.
Tivoli Road,
Dun Laoghaire.