Madam, – The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll (Front Page, January 25th) indicates a majority in favour of the idea that the Catholic Church should give up control of primary schools.
However, it is most important that this does not happen in the way suggested by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, namely that the church might divest itself of control of some schools while retaining others. This would be a recipe for a two-tier system similar to that at second-level, with all the invidious distinctions which have disfigured that system.
Rather, as a vital public policy objective, the Government should take the lead in negotiating the conditions under which schools can pass into a form of democratic control which can meet the needs of all without being dominated by any single interest. – Yours, etc,