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A multi-denominational high school discriminated against a Catholic school girl on religious grounds by favoring the admission of Church of Ireland students from a local primary school.
That’s the finding of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which has now ordered the Dublin Community School to admit the girl in the second year for the start of the next school year next September.
WRC adjudicating officer Brian Dalton also ordered the community school to stop giving priority to Church of Ireland pupils attending the nearby national school when it comes to first-year enrollment.
Mr. Dalton has also directed that the community school amend its admissions policy to ensure that conduct prohibited under the Equal Status Act ends.
In his ruling, Mr. Dalton has also ordered that the girl be admitted to high school for the next school year after taking into account her doctor’s recommendation and the mental anguish and anxiety she had suffered due to her failed application. .
The school maintained that it complies with the Equality of State Law and that it does not favor any religious faith over another when deciding who to admit in the first year.
However, Mr. Dalton found it difficult to reconcile how giving preference to Church of Ireland students was consistent with that stated goal while at the same time admitting that giving preference to a particular religious denomination.
The community school, established in 1995, has capacity for 200 first graders each year and receives about 400 applications.
On September 27, 2019, the girl was told by letter that her application to the school was unsuccessful.
The letter told him that, as a consequence of the school’s enrollment policy, Church of Ireland faith students attending a nearby national school “have priority when it comes to enrolling in the first year.”
In an internal appeal filed on behalf of the girl, it was indicated that she “was deeply distressed because she lives near the school and all her close friends were accepted into the school who also attended the same national school.”
The appeal was unsuccessful and the discrimination case was brought before the WRC in March 2020.
The girl was represented at the hearing by her father and an uncle, who is a lawyer.
The school denied discrimination and stated that it caters to generally Catholic populations and that appropriate arrangements are made for members of other faiths in consultation with the proper authorities.
The rationale for giving Church of Ireland students from the nearby national school is provided in the school’s admissions policy.
He says: “There is no Church of Ireland school that does not pay fees in North West Dublin. Consequently, when the university was established, it was designated as a listed post-primary school for children of the Church of Ireland in order to protect the rights of this minority, thus ensuring that a significant number of this community could be educated in set “.
The school’s board of directors also includes a member of the faith of the Church of Ireland.
The school stated that the priority given to Church of Ireland students was comprehensively reviewed and approved by the board in January 2018 based on a consultation process conducted with key community stakeholders.
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