Vol. 565 No. 3
175 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of Educate Together national schools which have been funded by his Department; the number of these schools in the country; and the policy of the Government in relation to these schools. [10673/03]
There are currently 28 Educate Together schools officially recognised by my Department and as such receive funding from my Department.
In relation to the policy on these schools, I assume the Deputy is referring to the Department's policy on recognition of such schools. In this regard the procedures to be followed by patron bodies, including Educate Together, when seeking recognition for new schools were recently revised based on the recommendations of the commission on school accommodation. Full details of the applications procedure and the time frame for consideration of applications for schools intending to commence operation in 2003-04 were circulated to the primary education partners and are also available on the Department's website at www.education.ie. These details will be updated for schools intending to commence operation in 2004-05.
