Proposed Government legislation on education could undermine partnership between denominational patrons of schools and the Department, according to senior figures from the Catholic Church.

A delegation from the Catholic Church’s Council for Education appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education yesterday.

Bishop Brendan Kelly, Chair of the Council for Education, warned that the proposed Education Bill rebalanced the relationships between the Department and patrons “too strongly in favour of the Minister and the Department”.

Under the new bill, the Department can reallocate teachers between schools without the agreement of school patrons.

Bishop Kelly, together with other Church representatives, pointed out that, under the 1998 Education Act, the hiring and firing of teachers had to be agreed between the Department and the patron.

They suggested that the proposed Bill be amended to retain this requirement.

They warned that large-scale redeployments of teachers would “undermine the characteristic spirit or ethos of a school”.

The representatives said they were concerned the Bill might “inadvertently undermine the checks and balances that underpin our education system”.