Clash looms over church demand for new schools [Independent.ie]
- Published: 09 August 2010
THE Catholic Church is demanding new primary schools in developing urban areas in return for handing over schools elsewhere.
The move is revealed in confidential church submissions to a Department of Education working group, which have been seen by the Irish Independent.
The disclosure follows the publication last week of a list of 43 areas where the department feels there are too many Catholic schools.
The documents link the transfer of some of these schools to a demand for schools in new areas -- a trade-off that some predict will lead to a church-state row.
One document, prepared jointly by the bishops and Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA), makes clear the church's willingness to trade schools in new areas for old ones.
Full Story: www.independent.ie
