THE ruling by the Supreme Court on the Employment Equality Bill was "of major importance to the status of Protestant schools", the Presbyterian General Assembly in Belfast was told yesterday.
In a debate on the Education Board report, the Rev Robert McMullan said the Bill in its original form had caused "great concern" to Protestant education..
Under its terms "institutions with a religious ethos were excluded" from its discrimination provisions.
At the Bill's final stage in the Dail, the Government proposed to remove this exclusion, under pressure from trade unions, he told the assembly. But, "following a concerted lobby by Protestant interests, including that of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Government agreed to substitute a new form of wording which allows discrimination in employment on the basis of religious denomination, provided such discrimination can be shown to be reasonable."
Welcoming the Supreme Court ruling that this was constitutional, he said that "without some form of protection it would be difficult for Protestant institutions in the Republic to employ Protestant employees, because of the weight of applications from non Protestants."
He also welcomed the Education Bill "as the first attempt in the history of the State to put the whole education system on a statutory basis rather than (being) subject to ministerial order."
The Bill, he felt, was likely to be revived in some form by the new government "be it Rainbow or whatever."
Mr McMullan described these as "exciting times to be living and working in the Republic. As Presbyterians we want to continue to make our mark on society (there) especially in the field of education," he said.
The assembly commended "those who represent the interests of the church in education" in the Republic, "especially through the Church of Ireland Chairpersons' Association and the ,Secondary Education Committee."
A survey presented to the assembly indicated that church service attendance rates were higher in the Republic than the North.
The survey, which had returns from 470 congregations out of 558 circulated, showed attendance at morning Sunday service on January 17th last was highest in Dublin, where 58.53 per cent of the (889) congregation attended. Next highest was Monaghan, where 50.61 per cent (of 1,358) was in attendance.
In the North, where 96 per cent (304,831) of all Ireland's Presbyterians live, attendances tended to be higher west of the Bann and lowest in the traditional heartland. Figures for Newry (39.5 per cent, of 3,340); Tyrone (38.9 per cent, of 3,523) and Omagh (36.5 per cent, of 2,826) were well above those for Carrickfergus (21.4 per cent, of 4,249), which had the lowest percentage turnout on the island.
The survey also indicated that more than 30 per cent of Presbyterians attend Sunday morning service, with 12 per cent attending Sunday evening service, and 3.5 per cent attending midweek services or housegroups.
Despite these findings, the church has more students for the ministry than it has posts for.
Over the next three years between 65 and 70 students will become eligible for appointment to a congregation. If all ministers due to retire at the age of 65 do so, there should be a surplus of eight qualified students by 2000.
