The following motion was passed unanimously on current education cuts at the Church of Ireland conjoint meeting of the Diocesan Synods of Cashel, Ossory and Ferns Diocesan Synods meeting in the Woodlands Hotel, Waterford on 21st October, 2009.
Motion:
“That the joint synods of Cashel and Ossory and Ferns, meeting in Waterford on Wednesday 21 October 2009, wish to convey to the Minister for Education and Science:
- Their extreme disquiet at the unilateral re-designation of Protestant managed voluntary secondary schools outside the ‘free’ sector.
- Their concern that the full contents of the advice of the Attorney-General concerning the supposed unconstitutionality of the former financing arrangements is not being made available for open discussion.
Furthermore the synods would wish to express to Archbishops John Neill and Diarmuid Martin their gratitude for the forthright common Christian approach they have taken regarding this matter.”
This motion follows the withdrawal of over €2.8m in grants from Protestant schools because the payment was deemed ‘unconstitutional’ by the Irish Attorney General.
The Taoiseach Mr. Brian Cowen at Wolfe Tone Commemoration 2009
Requests by opposition party’s that Taoiseach Brian Cowen outline details of exactly who and why the Irish Attorney General’s advice was sought after 43 years of the Protestant Ancillary Grant being paid without problem, have been refused.
It is also reported that a request from the Irish Independent newspaper for all information relating to the decision reached has also been refused by the Department of Education.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, His Grace Dr Diarmuid Martin has stated that this grant aid to Protestant schools should not be cut. Roman Catholic fee-paying schools have had no difficulty with the funding Protestant schools have received in the past, he stated.
The last Budget also increased the pupil teacher ratio in Protestant schools from 18 to1 to 20 to 1.
In a hard hitting speech at the prize-day of Midleton College, Cork, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, the Rt Rev’d Paul Colton, contradicted the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Batt O’Keeffe’s version of the Protestant Schools dispute.
He stated:
“There has been much in the media since our last prize-day about schools such as ours. On this occasion when we celebrate the life of this school, and indeed schools like it, as Chairperson of the Board of Management, I take this opportunity to clarify one aspect of this sorry business.
Contrary to what the Minister for Education and Science has stated, the Bishops of the Church of Ireland, and those who work with us, have indeed responded to him since our meeting with him on 5th November 2008. Again and again, including in a Sunday newspaper article two weeks ago, in Dáil Éireann this week, in what has become a defensive mantra, the Minister says that he is still waiting to hear our proposals in response to the budgetary brutality and financial backstreet butchery inflicted on Protestant schools in last year’s Budget.
Continue reading Education Motion Passed By C Of I Diocesan Synods
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