Dublin Sinn Fein Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Donnelly Welcomes Decision to Change School Enrolment Policy

Published: 23 January, 2008

Donnelly Welcomes Decision to Change School Enrolment Policy

Sinn Féin's Dublin 15 Representative, Paul Donnelly, has welcomed the decision by the Archdiocese of Dublin to pilot a change in the Catholic only enrolment policy in two local schools, St Patrick's in Diswellstown and St Mochta's in Clonsilla.

Donnelly said "I feel that this is a very progressive and inclusive move, one which I believe will help students of all races and religions to grow together throughout their formal education and help build relationships in the local community.

I understand the reasons behind the initial decision and I feel that the Boards of Management were left with a very difficult balancing act of trying to accommodate the huge influx of children in the community. At the heart of this issue is the poor planning decisions of the past where the only thought was of building houses with a total disregard of the consequences for the families purchasing them.

I am calling on both the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin and the Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan to set up a task force on education in the Dublin 15 area. I believe that this should include parents, school principals, representatives of school completion programmes, Educational Welfare Officers and Community Representatives to devise a strategy to tackle all the relevant issues. This must not be a talking shop and should have the financial backing of the Department of Education to implement any proposals.

Enrollment in junior infants is just the first rung on the ladder in terms of education; but if schools are not properly funded, we are setting every school going child on the road to failure. It is my fear that the recent decision of the current government to impose the full water charges on schools will only divert valuable resources away from vital areas such as literacy and numeracy interventions.