Crowe welcomes cross border consultation on school intake

Sinn Féin’s Education Spokesperson Seán Crowe has welcomed a consultation that is taking place with families living in the North and South of Ireland that seeks to establish the levels of interest in sending children to schools across the border.

Deputy Crowe said: “I understand that the education departments in both jurisdictions have agreed to carry out a survey in schools and community groups in border areas and that arrangements could be in place as early as September 2013.

“I would urge families to respond to the survey and if appropriate, consider sending their children to a school on the opposite side of the border to where they live.

“As the North’s Education Minister John O’Dowd rightly pointed out, cross-border co-operation has been an accepted and growing practice in higher level education and health.

“With rural communities facing the threat of cuts that may force the closure or amalgamation of many small schools, this is an option that needs to be considered. It may also help secure the future of minority faith based communities throughout the border region who should have the option of sending their children to a school of their religious domination.

“This important consultation is about developing a cross-border partnership that could secure the future of a number of rural schools and it is an example of how the development of an all-Ireland education strategy can help secure the long-term viability of rural Ireland.”