All schools equally affected by cutbacks, not just Protestant ones

Drew Nelson, grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, in an address to Seanad Éireann (Irish Examiner, Jul 4) complains of the effects cutbacks to Protestant schools are having on Protestant communities in the south.

Mr Nelson made no reference to the education cutbacks which are hitting equally all schools, not just Protestant ones.

Having been treated as a privileged minority since the introduction of the free post-primary education scheme in 1967, it is most regrettable that the Orange Order spokesperson is implying that changes to the funding of Protestant fee-paying schools were not driven by financial considerations, but by an unjust and doctrinaire strike at the Protestant sector. Such claims are without foundation. Not surprisingly, Mr Nelson has not produced a shred of evidence to support his position on alleged discriminatory funding of Protestant schools.