THE Employment Equality Bill could face a legal challenge in Europe by the INTO if it becomes law. Ms Sally Shiels, a former president and a member of the union executive, said yesterday that the INTO would fight Section 37 in Europe if it was necessary to protect the rights, not only of teachers, but of other school staff as well.
Conference delegates also voted overwhelmingly for industrial action to protect teachers against discrimination if the Bill becomes law. They demanded the deletion of Section 37, which allows discrimination against teachers to protect the religious ethos of a school, from the Bill.
For the third day, the Bill overshadowed proceedings in Killarney, evoking some of the most trenchant opposition to any issue.
Ms Shiels said teachers were "angry and upset" at the failure to remove the "iniquitous" Section 37 from the Bill and warned that complacency on the issue would be "dangerous".
Mr Brendan O'Sullivan, West Liffey, said the implications of the Bill were "horrendous". He questioned from what precisely a school's ethos needed to be protected. "Do I undermine the ethos of the school if I am in a second relationship or marriage?" he asked. "Do I undermine the ethos of the school if I am a single parent?"
The Bill could be used as an instrument of "vendetta", said Ms Fiona O'Connor, Wicklow. "Primary teachers are acting as the church's mouthpiece in an era of hugely declining church attendance and observance of its values," she told delegates. "It appears that this voluntary contribution and co operation is being taken for granted instead of being acknowledged, and appreciated by the churches.
Mr Matt Reville, South County Dublin, said teachers were "hapless victims, caught in the middle of a feud not of our own making".
The proposal to introduce an equality officer to restrain unwarranted discrimination was criticised by Mr Joe Duffy, Dublin North West, and a member of Teachers for Pluralism in Education.
"Discrimination is a murky area," he said. "It is 99 per cent covert rather than overt. It is very hard to prove." By the time the equality officer investigated a complaint, the damage to the reputation of the person concerned would already have been done.
Mr Duffy said there was no public clamour for Section 37 and that it had been introduced at "the behest of the Hierarchy". He pointed to the results of a survey conducted by the INTO two years ago, which found that 48 per cent of teachers opted for a multi denominational ethos as their preferred option.
There was one dissenting voice. Mr Diarmuid O Ceallaigh, Killorglin, said he felt the INTO was "kicking the clergy when they are down" and accused it of "jumping on the bandwagon of creeping anti clericalism".