Charity bible institute to be relocated from Dublin to the UK
Charity bible institutes will be moved to a new home in central Dublin from the US, as part of a $7m deal to provide education for disadvantaged students in the UK.
The move comes as the US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, announced a $2.8bn funding boost to schools and universities in the US.
The schools, colleges and universities will move to a “new” facility on the site of the old Charity Bible Institute, where they will have “the opportunity to grow and flourish in partnership with their US counterparts”.
The move is expected to add £30m to the cost of running the charity’s two schools, which currently receive around £1.5m each year.
The Charity Bible institutes are the largest single donor to Irish universities, receiving more than €10m annually.
The new facility will be used to support the charity and other local charities in Ireland, while providing opportunities for pupils in Ireland to learn and work alongside the Irish government.
“This will mean that the new facilities will provide a more effective teaching environment, enabling us to work with our partners to deliver the education we want to deliver to the many disadvantaged students and families who rely on the charity institute’s services,” said Teresa O’Connell, president of the Irish National Foundation for Children.
“The new facilities and a dedicated workforce will give our Irish children a better chance at success in their education, and it will be the perfect venue to grow our national programme.”
The move to the US comes after a visit by the US Department of Education to Ireland last week, where the department discussed the need to make better use of US-based charities.
Under the new agreement, the new facility, which is expected be completed by 2020, will become the headquarters of the Charity Bible institute.
The US is home to a number of charity institutes and charities, including the Irish Catholic Relief Agency and the Catholic Children’s Aid Society.
The Irish National Children’s Commission is also a member of the new partnership, and the Irish Government is also contributing funds to the two schools.
The charity institute was established in 1872 in Dublin by a group of philanthropists including Francis Beaumont, John Murray, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The organisation now operates three schools, the John Murray Centre, in Dublin, and St Patrick’s College in Waterford.