Archbishop calls on parents not to reject integrated education

Parents should not seek to "opt out" of integrated education by seeking to put their children in schools that might not have a broad ethnic mix, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said yesterday.

Speaking last night in the Church of the Annunciation at Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, during a Mass to mark the beginning of the school year, Dr Martin said "integration is a challenge for all".

"Integration is not just for the poor. It would be tragic and dangerous if the current debate were to lead parents to consider how they might 'opt out' of integrated education by seeking schools that might not have a broad ethnic mix.

"We all - including providers of Catholic education at primary and secondary level - have the responsibility to avoid a two-tier or elitist education system."

Dr Martin praised the work of teachers. "Our nation and everyone in it owes a debt of real gratitude to teachers."

He said some comment in the current debate on education in Ireland had been "offensive to teachers and management alike of Catholic schools which have been taking a leading role in integration".

"The fact is that Catholic schools in north and west Dublin, and indeed in many of the smaller country towns, cater for thousands of children of very different ethnic backgrounds and religions."