Bill would ‘destroy’ faith schools

Bill would ‘destroy’ faith schools

Draft educational legislation would destroy faith-based schools, religious freedom think-tank The Iona Institute has warned. It was responding to the ‘Equal Participation in Schools Bill’ proposed by Ruth Coppinger TD.

The draft proposes to take away the right of denominational schools to have a religious ethos and would require religious education to take place outside schools hours.

Commenting on the Coppinger Bill, David Quinn of The Iona Institute said: “Taking all of the Bill’s proposals together, the effect of them would be to effectively destroy denominational education in this country.

“They would extinguish the rights of the very many parents who still want to see their children taught in schools that reflect their religious beliefs,” Mr Quinn said.