A member of Limerick VEC has criticised a decision by the education authority to refuse two children permission to travel to school on a special bus service because they are not Protestants.
Former mayor of Limerick Michael Hourigan, yesterday described a letter from the city VEC to the parents of two Catholic children as "unfortunate". The teenage brother and sister at the centre of the controversy attend Villiers School on the North Circular Road in Limerick, which has many Protestant students.
Cllr Hourigan, who is on the board of Limerick City VEC, said yesterday that the phrasing of a letter from the body, which effectively denied the children permission to use the bus service, was harsh. "I will certainly be bringing this to the attention of the VEC, and to the chief executive officer in particular, to try and have it resolved for the coming school year," said Cllr Hourigan.
The Gleeson family had applied for permission for their two Catholic children to use a special daily bus to the school, which passes close to the family home. However, in a recent letter their application was rejected by Limerick City VEC on the basis that the service was only available to Protestant children.
The letter stated: "Villiers School is a school under Protestant management and only children of Protestant denominations have an entitlement to transport on the special Villiers School bus service." The children's father, Harry Gleeson, has roundly criticised the letter from the VEC as "nonsense" and "utter discrimination".
Limerick VEC management was due to meet Bus Éireann representatives yesterday to discuss the issue.