Vol. 432 No. 1
11 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education the response she gave to the recent policy statement issued on 6 April 1993, last by the Catholic Bishops regarding their claims to ownership and control of secondary and primary schools funded primarily from the Exchequer; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
While I welcomed the joint submission from the Conference of Major Religious Superiors and the Irish Bishops to the Green Paper debate I refrained from commenting in detail on the contents. I have not responded in detail to any of the submissions I received on the Green Paper.
The Deputy will be aware I announced that a national education convention will be held later in the year where there will be an opportunity for all the partners in education to engage in a full exchange of views on the future direction of Irish education. The views of the Catholic Bishops and the Conference of Major Religious Superiors, among others, will be fully considered and debated during the convention.
Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for insisting that this question be replied to. Does the Minister consider it acceptable that school buildings, which were provided with public money and the ownership of which is claimed by various Church authorities, should lie idle while other educational interests, including, for example, the multi-denominational school, whose representatives protested outside the House today, are not allowed to use those buildings? Since the education convention to which she referred is not due to take place until September what does the Minister intend to do specifically to ensure that the Dublin South City School Project will have a school building in which to provide classes for their children in September.
I am mesmerised that on a question in which I am asked to outline the response I gave to the recent policy statement issued on 6 April last by the Catholic Bishops I am asked to deal with a specific matter. However, I am prepared to say to the Deputy that the officials of my Department are dealing with this matter and have been doing so for the past few weeks.
They still do not have a building.
I met the people involved within hours of them losing the building. Even though the building they sought is not available — I fail to understand how I can be expected to give an answer to this question — I have made it perfectly clear a building will be made available. Yesterday my officials spoke to the board of management. I am satisfied that the school will be accommodated.
Deputy Gilmore rose.
The Deputy should confine himself to supplementaries appertaining to the policy matter referred to in the question; he has strayed considerably from it.
I am surprised that the Minister chose not to respond to my supplementary which related to the specific policy matter referred to. I again invite her to state whether she considers it acceptable that school buildings in church ownership should lie idle in Dublin south city, Sligo, Limerick or anywhere else while other educational interests including, for example, multi-denominational interests, do not have school buildings? Will she continue to preside over that?
That should be adequate, Deputy.
I have responded to the question tabled. There are many vacant buildings——
School buildings.
On the matter the Deputy raised today, a premises will be made available for the school in question in September. I am sure that issues such as constitutional requirements, obligations on patrons, investment in national schools and the ownership of lands and buildings will be discussed at the covention due to be held in September or October. I would not like to pre-empt the outcome of those discussions, but within a forthnight I will give details of what will happen in September. The Deputy has highlighted various issues in his question which I believe the interested parties on all sides would wish to discuss in a proper forum rather than in this curtailed manner.
