Northern Ireland

Underfunding of Catholic schools raised by Dublin government

On one of his visits to the north at Stormont Castle are (from left) Ray Burke TD, Gerry Collins TD, John Stanley MP and Tom King
On one of his visits to the north at Stormont Castle are (from left) Ray Burke TD, Gerry Collins TD, John Stanley MP and Tom King On one of his visits to the north at Stormont Castle are (from left) Ray Burke TD, Gerry Collins TD, John Stanley MP and Tom King

THE historic underfunding of Catholic schools in Northern Ireland, as revealed in a recent human rights report, was raised by the Republic's Foreign Affairs minister Gerry Collins with British ministers in 1991.

At a meeting of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in London on October 17, 1991, the minister referred to the recent report of the Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights (SACHR) on the sources of inequality in Northern Ireland.

He said that it "had revealed quite clearly a disturbing link between underfunding of the Catholic school system and the subsequent disadvantage to young Catholics seeking employment."

While he acknowledged the steps taken in the field of fair employment, action was now required to overcome the remaining structural impediments to achieving full equality in Northern Ireland.

The minister stressed that lasting political progress depended on full equality for both communities.