Catholics come first at faith schools, says Martin

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has defended giving priority to baptised Catholics when allocating places at Catholic schools, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

Archbishop Martin was responding to a Dublin mother’s complaint last weekend that her four-year-old son had been denied a place in several Catholic primary schools because he is not baptised.

“In Catholic schools they obviously prioritise people who are Catholic,” said Archbishop Martin, after concelebrating Mass at St John Vianney Church in Artane, Dublin, on Tuesday.

He added that Catholic schools’ reputation for being good educators has led to over-subscription.

However, he also said the process currently under way of handing over a number of Catholic schools to new providers is too slow, though he denied that the Church was to blame for the delay, rather it was due to communities not wanting change. In the Irish Republic, the vast majority of primary schools come under the ownership and patronage of the Catholic Church.