Irish Examiner view: Survey could shape the future of our education system
A survey on primary school practices may become a de facto referendum on attitudes to the Catholic Church.
A survey which may alter the course of Irish education — and Irish society, potentially — will take place when the parents of 826,000 children are asked by the Department of Education for their views on primary schooling.
It is believed to be the largest ever national survey of its kind, with parents or guardians of every child up to 12 years of age being asked if they would prefer a religious or multi-denominational approach in primary school.
This is not the only question that will face parents.
They will also be asked about whether they would prefer single sex or mixed schools for instance, as well as their preferences for the language of instruction, English or Irish.
The latter are significant questions, obviously enough, focusing as they do on the environment and discourse of primary education.
It is safe to assume even now that strong arguments will be heard on these topics.
However, the question of religious ethos is a particularly challenging one.
It has been estimated that approximately 90% of schools are run by the Catholic Church in Ireland, a striking figure when compared with other metrics of religious observance such as mass attendance.
It is widely reported, for instance, that the percentage of the Irish population attending mass has fallen from a high of 92% in 1975 to just 27% in 2022.
In that context, the Church’s influence on education seems out of proportion to the number of people engaged in the most basic Church practices.
It seems clear, then, that this survey on primary school practices may become a de facto referendum on attitudes to the Catholic Church.
Its influence within the education system has sometimes been cited as evidence of the State’s abdication of its civic responsibilities.
If so, then citizens now have an opportunity to express their preference for an alternative.
Recent comments by Taoiseach Micheál Martin suggest that Ireland has been “straitjacketed” by adopting development restrictions beyond what was agreed at an EU level.
Stressing the need to cut “red tape” to speed up the delivery of housing projects, earlier this week the Taoiseach said: “Every modern leader is saying we have stitched ourselves up over the years.
"An accumulation of regulatory frameworks that are just too straitjacketing of development. There has to be a better way.”
This was the background to housing minister James Browne’s announcement that he wishes to make Uisce Éireann facilitate the development of wastewater infrastructure by the private sector.
This issue is seen as a major stumbling block when it comes to using smaller pockets of land suitable for housing development in rural towns and villages.
The minister has said he wishes to “unlock problematic water services infrastructure that is constraining the delivery of homes people need built”, and he “will not tolerate unnecessary delays” to the speed of delivery.
These are laudable aims.
Nobody would seek to put more obstacles in the way of housing development given the scale of the accommodation crisis.
However, it might be worth examining this plan in greater detail — including the specific proposal that developers are to fund the wastewater infrastructure serving their development while Uisce Éireann will take over the running of that infrastructure.
This is a sizeable responsibility for the water utility, one to be viewed in the light of recent events.
Last month, we learned that a bitumen spill at Uisce Éireann’s Cork harbour and city water supply shut down operations for 12 hours and was not suitably reported to protect public health.
This week we learned some Cork City residents have taken a legal challenge over drinking water against the Environmental Protection Agency, specifically its approval of an Uisce Éireann action plan to address persistent water contamination.
While all of us wish to see improvements in infrastructure and development, Uisce Éireann’s track record hardly inspires confidence in its ability to help in this regard.
Mayoral and gubernatorial elections taking place in the US will be watched closely by many observers far beyond that country’s borders, people who will not be directly affected by the winners of those contests.
That is because these elections are seen by some not just as appointment systems for local civic leaders, but as a rolling opinion poll on the performance of US president Donald Trump as well.
One of the most significant of those contests is the election of mayor of New York City.
The favourite, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, has run on a progressive platform.
The fact that he beat out Democratic royalty, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, for his party’s nomination was a surprise.
Given the nativist turn in American public life, the fact that Mamdani, a Muslim of Indian-African descent, is in line to become mayor of New York City is little short of a shock.
Irish interest in American politics has always been keen, and New York has long been a particular focus of that interest.
This is hardly surprising given that men with surnames such as Grace, Gilroy, Mitchel, O’Brien, and O’Dwyer were among the past mayors of that city.
Trump has also maintained his interest in his native place, going so far as to endorse Andrew Cuomo — now running for mayor as an independent.
It will be interesting to evaluate the worth of that endorsement when the election results come in.
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