I’ll put an end to Baptism barrier
Minister Bruton vows to push on with plans, despite legal warnings from Catholic groups
EDUCATION Minister Richard Bruton is to press ahead with plans to end the ‘Baptism barrier’ – despite warnings from Catholic groups that it will leave the Government open to legal challenges. Mr Bruton announced plans last year to ban Catholic primary schools from giving priority in their enrolments to baptised children, in cases where the school is over-subscribed.
This was not included in his Admissions Bill legislation last year – but he has now said he is planning an amendment to the Bill that will give effect to the plans. However, he said the process will be ‘painstaking’ and ‘tricky’.
The Catholic Primary Schools Management Association has told the Department of Education that Mr Bruton’s plan is part of a ‘secularisation agenda aimed mainly at the Catholic Church’ – according to letters released to The Irish Times, under Freedom of Information. The CPSMA Proposal: Richard Bruton stated: ‘We note that such a process may also open the State to a multiplicity of civil suits by those parents who wish to retain a Catholic faith ethos of their children.’
However, Mr Bruton said yesterday he will be pressing ahead with the plans, and denied they had been delayed. He said that ‘the direction of my thinking would be to remove religion as a criteria for selection in schools generally, except where it was necessary for a child of a minority to get access to a school’.
As part of his plans, minority faiths such as the Church of Ireland can still give priority to those practising their religion so that they can protect their ethos where they are over-subscribed.
Asked whether he was concerned about legal threats or about fears raised by Catholic bodies, Mr Bruton indicated that he had heard extensive legal opinion on the matter.
He said: ‘I have had detailed consultations with the Attorney General, we have had to get legal advice and we have had to do this painstakingly, but I am very happy with the progress we are making and I do plan to introduce an amendment to the Dáil so that this can be part of the Admissions Bill.’
However, Mr Bruton said great care will have to be taken to ensure the legislation is not open to challenge. ‘Obviously, we have to be very careful in drafting this because there are constitutional rights involved but I don’t see it as discriminatory in that what we are trying to do is achieve balance,’ he said.
‘You have a situation where a child of a majority religion has 18 out of every 20 primary schools to choose from whereas the child of a minority religion would have just one of the 20 to choose from.
‘So I believe it is fair and balanced in trying to protect the right of freedom of expression of a child of a minority religion that they would be protected in getting access to a school where they are not as available. And you would see a situation where a child of a minority simply wouldn’t get access to a school of their own ethos simply because of the geographical location.’
Teachers, parents and lobby groups have all cautiously welcomed plans to remove the so-called ‘Baptism barrier’.
David Kenny, assistant professor of law at Trinity College Dublin, previously told the Irish Daily Mail he believed Mr Bruton’s proposal was constitutional. He said: ‘The argument would be that discriminating is acceptable because discrimination being introduced is designed to protect the free practice rights of minority religions.
‘And the same treatment is not necessary to protect the rights of Catholics in this instance because of how many schools remain at the moment under a Catholic ethos.’
‘We have to be very careful’