Press Releases
Archbishop Accuses Department of Education of paying "no more than Lip Service" to Church Education
Archbishop Accuses Department of Education of paying "no more than Lip Service" to Church Education
Speaking at the Church of Ireland General Synod, the Archbishop of Dublin will accuse the Department of Education of “paying no more than lip service” to “the whole concept of Christian education upon which our education system is founded.”
The full text of the Archbishop’s statement follows.
The Archbishop will acknowledge the assistance of the state in assisting the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland it the provision and maintenance of primary education throughout the Republic, but he will warn “this whole pattern of education which has served this Republic so well and given due recognition to the majority and minority contribution to education is now under serious threat.”
Citing the Department of Education’s planning for rapidly developing areas on the East Coast and the Midlands, the Archbishop will say “the needs of an area for school places is being addressed but in an unimaginative manner. Schools with four classes are being asked to virtually double in size overnight, and those with eight class teachers are being asked to become two stream or even more....Some of our schools do indeed need to grow but not at the rate proposed. The result is that in some areas, the Church of Ireland pupils would become a minority in their own schools. This in the end, if the trend was allowed to develop would seriously undermine the ethos of the school, and indeed the close link between church and school that is very important in so many places.”
Concluding the Archbishop will say “whoever enters Government must address the issue as to whether everything is solved by building everything bigger and bigger, or whether the richness and diversity that has been our pattern in the Republic is worth preserving. Faith communities require an answer to this question.”
Church of Ireland General Synod 2007
Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny
Synod Press Officer:
Garrett Casey (087) 2356472 (from the Republic of Ireland) or +353 87 2356472 (from Northern Ireland)
Statement by the Archbishop of Dublin on the Role of Faith Communities in Irish Education Today
The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have both emphasized the important role of faith communities in the Ireland of today. This is consistent with the contribution that the churches have made since the foundation of the State and long before in among other areas, that of the provision of education.
The Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church in particular have provided and maintained Primary Education across the whole of the Republic. This provision has of course been fully supported and resourced by the State. Each tradition has had its particular ethos and this has been fully recognised. This recognition is more than a matter of historical precedent, because it reflects the needs of parents and pupils today. Whilst there is and will continue to be a demand for a purely secular model of education, experience here and elsewhere, notably in Britain and some continental countries, has shown that a large proportion of the population still want faith schools. Much of the support for such school comes from those outside the churches who seek a school with a clearly defined value system and ethos.
This State has therefore maintained alongside the various other more recent patronages, such as Educate Together, both the Protestant and the Roman Catholic Primary Schools under distinct and separate patronage. The school transport schemes in scattered rural areas have been an essential ingredient in the maintenance of Church of Ireland Schools, and the recognition of the needs of the minority churches. The Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church have in some places worked on a shared campus, sharing some resources, but each with its distinctive ethos and patronage. This is important for both churches, as neither wish to dilute their distinctiveness. It is even more important for the Church of Ireland in that a minority would very quickly be subsumed in a majority through sheer force of numbers.
This whole pattern of education which has served this Republic so well and given due recognition to the majority and minority contribution to education is now under serious threat.
School planning for many of the newly developing areas, particularly on the East Coast and the Eastern Midlands, has begun to take on a new perspective. In response to the sudden demand for places, the Department has asked schools to greatly expand in size. Schools with four classes are being asked to virtually double in size overnight, and those with eight class teachers are being asked to become two stream or even more. This results in serious consequences for the Church of Ireland community. The Church of Ireland in the Republic has shown substantial growth in the last two national censuses and after a period of decline is now back to levels of sixty years ago – and continues to grow at a rate slightly ahead of the population as a whole – but we simply cannot provide sufficient pupils in most places for such greatly enlarged schools. Church of Ireland Schools will struggle to meet the criteria that the state proposes to apply to school development in the future. Some of our schools do indeed need to grow, but not at the rate proposed. The result is that in some areas, the Church of Ireland pupils would become a minority in their own schools. This, if allowed to develop, would seriously undermine the ethos of the school, and indeed the close link between church and school that is very important in so many places.
While I sympathise with the Department’s dilemma and still more with those who are finding it difficult to find places for their children, a better solution would be more moderate growth in the existing schools along with the building of new schools.
It seems that those planning to cope with rising numbers seeking school places have little realization of the contribution of the distinctive faith schools, and that now no more than lip service is being paid to the whole concept of Church education upon which our education system is founded. No Church wants to control education in the State, but I am sure that all churches have a concern to continue to contribute for the sake of the large numbers that welcome Church education.
At this time, whoever enters Government must address the issue as to whether everything is solved by building everything bigger and bigger, or whether the richness and diversity that has been our pattern in the Republic is worth preserving. Faith communities require an answer to this question.
Church of Ireland General Synod 2007
Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny
Synod Press Officer:
Garrett Casey (087) 2356472 (from the Republic of Ireland) or +353 87 2356472 (from Northern Ireland)