Yes, the State should be involved in managing primary schools. But let's not create a two-tier system where Catholic parents opt-out, argues Seán Flynn, Education Editor

The Balbriggan school crisis, where the pupils enrolled in two new schools are almost exclusively black and minority-ethnic pupils, has generated a very good debate on the future management of primary schools.

It is clear that the current system, in which the Catholic Church manages over 3,000 of the 3,280 primary schools in the State, cannot serve the needs of a pluralist society. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, acknowledges this and has called for a "plurality of patrons" at primary level.

While the Balbriggan case raises several issues, not least the scandalous lack of planning by local authorities and the Department of Education, its emergence should not obscure the overall success of the primary education system in integrating newcomer children.

In hundred of towns and villages, newcomer children have been successfully integrated into Catholic and non-Catholic primary schools without difficulty. Many newcomer families will say that one of the few places where they have felt welcomed, valued and respected by the Irish State is in primary schools.

Yes, some Catholic schools insists on a Baptismal Cert - as they are entitled to do - where they are hugely oversubscribed. But the vast majority have thrown open their doors to newcomer children, as they should, without any question.

It is also wrong to assume that all Catholic schools are hugely authoritarian in nature. At this stage, many have learned to adopt a relaxed approach towards teachers, parents and pupils who do not practise or even subscribe to the Catholic faith.

Yes, the Catholic Church have strong control over appointments and the boards of management, but in many schools this power is more apparent than real.

In recent years, there has been no repetition of the scandalous Eileen Flynn case of 1984, when the then 28-year-old teacher at Holy Faith in New Ross, Co Wexford was dismissed because she had a child without being married.

In these more enlightened times, Catholic schools no longer fight these battles. And should they ever return to the old way, they would find, in the shape of the INTO, a strong, forward-looking union that would not tolerate any such nonsense.

So, it is important to see the modern Catholic primary education system in the round. It is a system which is rooted in the community it serves and it is, for the most part, a very successful system.

Here's a question. When was the last time you heard someone complaining about primary schools in this State in the same way we routinely moan about the health or transport service? Yes, individual parents may have problems with individual teachers or principals, but, as a Department of Education poll indicated three years ago, there is a very high level of public satisfaction with primary schools.

It is important to bear this in mind as we begin the welcome process of establishing a State-run patronage system for primary schools. The first such State-run school, managed by the Co Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC) is expected to open in Diswellstown, west Dublin next year.

Looking to the future, Archbishop Martin envisages a scenario where the Catholic Church divests control of, for example, two schools in an area where there are five schools.

Given his open-minded approach, there are clearly opportunities for the State to take over the management of former Catholic schools.

But there are also real dangers, principally the possible creation of a two-tier system. It is all too easy to envisage a situation where the middle class of old Ireland gravitate towards the traditional, well-established Catholic schools while the newcomer children - and perhaps the less prosperous - will move to the new State-run school.

One of the great strengths of the current primary education system is the manner in which children from vastly different social backgrounds are educated, by and large, in the one primary school. In general, primary schools in Ireland reflect their local communities. There is none of the polarisation that we have seen develop in second-level education, particularly in Dublin.

And, of course, there is little privatisation of education and few fee-paying schools - the factor that has driven the strong social division at second-level in Dublin.

The good news is that the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, appears to be alive to the danger of a two-tier system. Rather than the Catholic Church divesting itself of schools, she prefers a new approach where the emphasis is on maintaining the strengths of our primary education system, it community base and its lack of social division.

Achieving this goal will not be easy and the Department has only now begun the task of thinking about a framework for the future. The challenge is to retain the good aspects of the current system while being flexible enough to accommodate and reflect much more diversity.

It will not be an easy task. And that is why the INTO's idea of a national forum on school patronage is sensible.

Dr Martin has raised one provocative question in this debate - why should we assume that a State-run system would automatically be better? He cited the English example where the education system became a ideological battleground between Labour and the Tories in the past two decades. And he warned about a State-run system here, controlled by various political fiefdoms.

The best approach may be to create a new system of State control, which is rooted in the community. The community model has worked very well at second-level. Is there a case for a community-based approach in which those of all religions and none can participate?

The possible options?

THE VEC OPTION

The Co Dublin VEC will run the first State-run primary school, due to open in Diswellstown west Dublin next year. VECs are the only State-based school management system already in place, so asking them to take control of primary schools appears logical.

But how would the public respond to schools controlled by politically-appointed VECs?

THE COMMUNITY OPTION

Community schools have been one of the shining stars of the second-level system. Could a system be devised for primary school which respects those of all faiths and none?

THE STATUS QUO

This means the majority of schools: denominational, mainly Catholic, with a small multi-denominational and Gaelscoil sector. This presents obvious problems in a new Ireland where many parents have no choice but to send their children to a school that does not represent their belief system. Schools are also increasingly vulnerable to legal challenge if they persist with restrictive enrolment policies.

PLURALITY OF PATRONAGE

Suggested by Archbishop Martin. Sounds progressive but could it lead to a two-tier system?