IPPN

A SENIOR Church of Ireland bishop has accused the Government of unlawfully breaking a 40-year agreement with Protestant second-level schools over its Budget decision to withdraw support services grants mid-year.

The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Ken Good, levelled this serious legal breach against the Government in his annual address to his diocesan synod in Derry yesterday, when he warned of difficulties that this decision would create for volunteers serving on school boards.

"This action is, in effect, in contravention of an agreement with the Government in 1968, under which these schools were classified as within the free scheme, even though they charge fees to cover boarding costs which arise because of the dispersed nature of the Protestant population throughout the Republic", Bishop Good said in his address.

"Throughout the Protestant community in the Republic, there is much concern about the decision in the Budget to withdraw, mid-year, support services grants to many second-level schools under Protestant management."

Bishop Good added that schools in all sectors were managed by dedicated and committed Boards of Management who gave their time and expertise freely and voluntarily.

But he went on to warn the Government that this high level of commitment, which was an invaluable resource at the disposal of local communities and of the State, must not be taken for granted.

- John Cooney