The Catholic Primary Schools’ Management Association (CPSMA) expressed disappointed with the Minister’s proposals as they have failed to address in any way the current difficulty in oversubscription being experience in a small number of areas in the State.
The CPSMA is unaware of any case of a child being refused admission to a Catholic School solely on the basis of the lack of a baptismal certificate: religious affiliation only comes into play in cases of over subscription; even then, in all cases that we are aware of, children who are not Catholic have been accepted ahead of Catholics due to the sibling rule.
The simple fact is that, in oversubscribed schools, the vast majority of unsuccessful applicants are Catholic.
The CPSMA points out that oversubscription arises not from a lack of baptismal certificates but from Government failure to deliver sufficient school places for local school needs. The Minister’s proposals do nothing to address that. His proposal to treat schools of different faiths in an unequal manner is unusual and some constitutional issues may arise from them.