The Dublin archdiocese has said it is "unacceptable" that individual school boards of management are hiring teachers without first obtaining the approval of the schools' patron, the Archbishop, Dr Diarmuid Martin.
In a letter to all primary school principals and boards of management in Dublin, Father Séamus O'Brien, of the archdiocese's education secretariat, says the patron of the schools - in this case Dr Martin - is concerned that "some boards of management are not fully following procedures for the appointment of teachers".
"It is important that the board of management seek written approval from the patron before they notify successful candidates of their appointment," he states. "It is unacceptable that a board would appoint a teacher to a position in the school and then days or weeks later write looking for approval from the patron," he states.
The letter, sent to schools last month, has given rise to concerns that the archdiocese is attempting to assert its right to veto the appointment of teachers whose beliefs are not in accordance with the Catholic faith.
However, a spokesman for the archdiocese said yesterday the letter was simply restating the Department of Education's own guidelines regarding the appointment of teachers. In a circular to schools two years ago, the Department of Education and Science stated that while there was no longer a requirement for boards of management to receive the sanction of the Minister for Education and Science for the appointment of a successful candidate before he/she is notified, "the requirement to seek the prior approval of the patron still remains".
According to the spokesman for the archdiocese, the letter was not a new directive and had been issued to "remind people of the \ own requirements". It only related to primary schools and was confined to the Dublin archdiocese.
One reason for the letter may have been fears that if boards of management appointed teachers without consulting the patron, due to the Department's guidelines there could be questions about the validity of the appointment, he added. But he stressed this would not affect anybody who had been appointed in this way.
"Once a set of procedures is in place and you don't follow them, it does create a problem," he said.