THE LONGSTANDING baptism barrier on entry to Irish Catholic-run schools will be lifted this year.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton has announced that new rules banning discrimination against children who are not baptised should come into force this year.
In a statement this morning, Bruton said that oversubscribed primary schools will no longer be allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion.
He published three amendments to the Education Bill 2016 which included that the role of religion in admissions be removed.
The proposed new law will also include protections to ensure that a child of minority religion in school admissions be removed.
Roughly 90% of primary schools across the country are run through the Catholic faith.
According to Bruton: “It is unfair that a local child of no religion is passed over in favour of a child of religion, living some distance away for access to their local school. Parents should not feel pressured to baptise their child to get access to their local school.
“While 90% of our primary schools are of a Catholic ethos, recent figures show that over 20% (and growing) of our parent-age population is non-religious. In addition, recent marriage statistics for 2017 show that only approximately 51% of marriages occurred in a Catholic ceremony.”
The new amendments are also suggesting protections be put in place for the Irish language.
Gaelscoileanna will be allowed to give priority admission to students who have an age-appropriate level of oral fluency in the Irish language.
These schools will also be required to take into account whether a child has a special educational need in the context of determining what a reasonable age-appropriate level of Irish for that child would be.
See More: Catholic, Education, Ireland, Religion
