Sir, Breda O'Brien (Opinion, April 30th) quotes the Irish Catholic survey which claimed that "only 46" schools are oversubscribed. The picture is far more complex than she makes out.
Firstly, many parents make multiple applications to schools in multiple catchment areas. How do you even define what constitutes “oversubscribed” and identify which schools are “oversubscribed” in this context?
Secondly, in many of the areas where children of non-religious and minority religion parents cannot access the local school, there isn’t actually a demographic need for more school places in the area.
Thirdly, such children often languish at the back of admissions queues, as baptised children from not only their area but other areas too receive preferential treatment.
Ms O’Brien paints this as just a minority issue. If we take it to mean a “minority of support”, she is wildly incorrect. The recent Behaviour & Attitudes poll showed that 85 per cent of people said the education system should be reformed to ensure no child is excluded on the basis of their religion and 77 per cent said they do not think a school should have the right to refuse admission to a child on religious grounds.
Moreover, minority rights should never be trounced by slippery notions of contrived majoritarianism.
I wonder how Ms O’Brien would feel if she lived in a Muslim majority country, where state-funded schools monopolised by Islamic institutions, could discriminate against (minority) Christians in their admissions’ policies and subject her children to indoctrination throughout the day as part of an “integrated curriculum”.
I rest my case.
– Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.