Parents on school boards are providing a crucial and valued service to the community, the Government said today.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said parents serving on school Boards of Management in some 3,200 primary schools across the State were an example of active citizenship in practice.
She told more than 200 parents attending the National Parents Council Primary conference that in carrying out their functions on the Board, they are protected from any personal liability should legal action be taken against that Board.
"It is vitally important that parents know with certainty that they have legal protections afforded to them in carrying out their valuable role on the board," she said.
Ms Hanafin told the conference, which is now in its 21st year, that the Attorney General had confirmed there was no personal liability provided members had performed their functions in good faith under the Education Act.
By the end of this year all current primary school boards will have completed their four year term of office and will be replaced by newly established Boards of Management.
She said recent media coverage implied that boards were left to work in isolation unsupported by the Department.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," she said. "There is a strong partnership approach right across the education sector in relation to policy and regulatory issues in which the parents are a key partner."