A school has won its appeal against a decision that found it had discriminated against a traveller boy by refusing him admission.

In a judgement delivered yesterday (July 25th) at Clonmel Circuit Court, Judge Thomas Teehan rejected an earlier ruling by the Equality Tribunal that the Christian Brothers High School had acted against the law by refusing 13-year-old John Stokes admission.

He said a rule that only guarantees entry to those who had a parent or brother attend the facility is a necessary step in creating a balanced and proportionate admissions policy.

However, he acknowledged that travellers and the children of immigrants may be especially disadvantaged by these guidelines, in which case it is up to the school to demonstrate how the restriction can be justified, which the Christian Brothers establishment had done in this case.

Judge Teehan added it may be necessary for the Oireachtas to consider a requirement for mandatory positive discrimination in admission policies.

Earlier this year, Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn launched a discussion paper on the issue of school admission policies to consider how to better regulate the process.

Written by Donal Walsh
 

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