Sir, – I am a parent in one of the schools being canvassed for divestment in the Malahide area of Dublin. I was present at a recent school meeting held with a representative from the diocese. We were told that the urgency of this divestment process, with a vote this month and a change by September 2019, was due to pressure from the Department of Education.
As described by its representative, the process chosen by the diocese has two stages. The first is a straight vote by the parents on whether they are happy with the Catholic Church as existing patron body of each school. Prior to this vote, the schools and parents have no contact from the other patrons about the implications of any change. If the parents vote that they are happy, that is the end of the process. If the parents vote for change, that school moves to stage two, where the other patron bodies have a consultation with the parents and school. It is only at stage two that the parents meet the other patrons and get information concerning what changes would be made.
The diocesan representative was clear that there was no going back. If parents voted for change, in order to evaluate the other options, but were unhappy with the available options, the diocese would not accept a school back under its patronage. In the representative’s words, “You’re gone”.
It strikes me that this process, together with a not insignificant amount of misinformation, are cynically engineered to obtain a particular result for the diocese. As we have seen with Brexit, voting for change, without knowing what that change will entail, is a risky enterprise. Therefore many parents who might be interested in divestment would likely vote to keep the status quo, as pragmatism usually triumphs over idealism. The diocese can then report to the Department of Education that the majority of the parents in the area are against divestment, when this may not be the case.
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While I’m in favour of universal divestment of schools, believing a secular education is the right of every citizen, I am more concerned about the fairness of the current process being run. The diocese has not said whether the results for each school would be released, and will not release the results of the survey of parents in the area that led to this very process.
Could the Government please devise a coherent divestment plan with a sensible timetable in collaboration with the diocese, rather than force parents and the excellent national schools in the area to deal with an artificially created crisis? – Yours, etc,
DAVID McALINDEN,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.