The High Court has begun hearing a challenge by four Protestant schools against a teacher redeployment scheme.
The four private Dublin secondary schools: St Andrew's in Booterstown, Rathdown Girls' School in Glenageary, Wesley College in Ballinteer, and St Patrick's Grammar in Christchurch say the scheme interferes with their autonomy over who they can employ.
They are looking for declarations that Minister for Education Batt O’Keefe has breached their constitutional rights by requiring them to accept teachers under the scheme because of the closure of a number of schools in Dublin.
The Minister denies the claims and says the schools have to prove the denominational nature and ethos with regard to the selection and recruitment of teachers.
Mr O'Keefe also says the question of how to deal with surplus teachers was agreed with the social partners as part of the national agreement Towards 2016.
