On 5 January 1973, the Fifth Amendment to Bunreacht na hÉireann was signed into law.

This amendment, which removed from the constitution the explicit recognition of the 'special position' of the Catholic church in Ireland, was endorsed by almost 85% of the electorate.

This recognition of the 'special position' of the Catholic church was deemed, rightly, as sectarian and an affront to the other churches in the state.

I find it somewhat hypocritical that spokespersons for some of the principal Protestant churches in the state are now calling for 'special status' in relation to funding for some Protestant fee-paying schools.

While I recognise, and have some sympathy for, the plight of some rural Protestant schools, I find it objectionable that hard-pressed taxpayers should be expected to fund some of the most elite fee-paying schools in the state.

Furthermore, to claim that these changes were not driven by financial considerations but by an unjust and doctrinaire strike at the Protestant sector, as stated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, is unworthy of him. For Neill to label the minister for education's decision to treat all fee-paying schools with equanimity as sectarian and discriminatory is a considered insult and grossly offensive.

Faced with the Irish banks' bail-out by the government, which is the highest government bail-out as a proportion of economic output in the world, and a
global recession to boot, this state is facing into the gravest financial situation in its history and if we are to stabilise the finances and avoid bankruptcy, all
sections of Irish society must shoulder their share of the burden.

Tom Cooper,

Delaford Lawn,

Knocklyon,

Dublin 16.