David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Barry Andrews, but I am sorry that the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, is not present.

This is an interesting situation and one that I take on with some delicacy because I do not like to take on any sectarian matter about the Catholic ethos or Protestant ethos. There is, however, a worrying situation here. I wish first to put it into its historical context. A mild-mannered man, the Anglican Archbishop, Dr. John Neill, has said that it is highly discriminatory against members of minority religions. This is infinitely regrettable.

Speaking on 2 October 2003 in the other House, the then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, said: "There are 59 fee charging second level schools in the country, of which one is Jewish, 21 Protestant, two inter-denominational and the balance Catholic". That is just about half the number of Protestant schools there were when the State came into existence so there has already been a steady erosion of these schools. He added, "The Protestant and Jewish schools receive funding by way of a block grant which has its origins in the desire of the State to enable students of the Protestant and Jewish persuasion to attend schools that reflect their denominational ethoi."

He continued to answer several of the points that the Department had put forward in defence of its swingeing cuts to these schools:

[T]he vast majority of Church of Ireland schools are in rural areas and cater for a scattered Protestant population. Their not receiving State support would cause them great difficulties. These are the kinds of complex issues that are involved.

In other words, they are very different and cannot possibly be described as elitist because they often cater for poor people, those on social welfare who depend on the grant made out of the block grant and who now do not get the per capita grant.

In 1967, introducing this situation, the late Donogh O'Malley, then Minister for Education, said:

In the matter of the free post-primary education scheme special consideration was given to the position of Protestant schools. If the general scheme had been applied to these schools, practically no Protestant pupils would have benefited. In order, therefore, to ensure that Protestants would be treated equitably in the matter of benefit under the scheme, a special arrangement was made whereby a Commission representing the schools under Protestant management is to be paid a lump sum which will be distributed by the Commission in grants towards the school fees of the pupils most in need of such assistance ... one of the main reasons being that the religious in the Catholic schools - priests, brothers and sisters - plough back their salaries while the Protestant schools have not such a source of income ... It would just not be possible for my Department to distribute the grant in the same manner as we do to the Catholic schools ... [The Secondary Education Commission for the Protestant Schools] came to the conclusion that the manner in which they were acting was the only manner in which they could act in order to ensure an equitable distribution, taking account of the varying circumstances of the pupils and their families.

Three Fianna Fáil Ministers have outlined the reasons this provision was made and it has been unilaterally altered by this Government. This is a serious matter because it will affect Protestant schools.

The Minister of State has in his files briefing documents transmitted to Senator Bacik and to me which indicate a series of case histories both in the Dublin area and in the country which make it very clear that certain families who are on the margins would not be able to send their children to school if these measures go ahead and are sustained. In the 2009 budget the Government singled out Protestant schools for discriminatory treatment. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, acknowledged this in the Dáil last November, saying, "I am well aware it will cause serious difficulty and I obviously have concerns about this".

The former archdeacon, Reverend Gordon Linney, writing in The Irish Times last Monday stated:

People might assume that this is an extra concessionary payment exclusive to Protestant schools. It is not. The same funding is given to Catholic schools on a per capita basis whereas the Protestant sector receives it in block form to be channelled to those most in need.

If these proposals are sustained there will be a charge on the Exchequer because at least 10% to 15% of pupils will be dislodged. They will have to be taken into the State sector and there will be a higher cost to the State and several schools will close down completely. This is not in anyone's interests. It is not good educational practice. Reverend Linney added:

Catholic children have additional supports in their schools through various grants and a much better teacher-pupil ratio ... In one of our rural schools where many family incomes are less than what is available on social welfare, over half the pupils require significant financial assistance with their fees. It is quite disgraceful to label these people as "elitist".

In other words, because of the dispersed nature of the Protestant population throughout the country there is not normally a school of their ethos within their immediately neighbouring area so they are forced into a situation such that they have to attend boarding schools. They are not boarding for reasons of snobbery but because it is the only way in which they can get this kind of education.

I would like the Minister to think again for several reasons. First, there is an historic precedent. Nothing could be clearer than the arguments advanced by no fewer than three successive Fianna Fáil Ministers which exactly parallel the arguments now being made by the representatives of the minority religions, including the Jewish faith. Second, the whole matter is seen as discriminatory and is regarded as such by the leaders of the minority faiths.