Madam, – Oliver Mahon (December 15th) takes Fintan O’Toole to task over his article (“Agents of foreign state should not control our schools”, Opinion, December 8th).
He claims Mr O’Toole misrepresents the Education Act 1998 and the Oireachtas by stating, “The chairperson shall be appointed by the patron and his/her authority shall derive from such appointment”.
Mr Mahon’s erroneous claim of misrepresentation is based on his assertion that Mr O’Toole’s words do not appear in any Act or statute. If Mr Mahon checks his facts he will find these exact words in section 10 (b) of Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedure from the Department of Education, issued under the 1998 Education Act to which it refers.
Long may Mr O’Toole continue to campaign for protection of our education system! – Is mise,