Eoghan Murphy
Question:103 Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there are plans for the establishment of an Educate Together secondary school in Dublin. [10125/12]
View answerWednesday, 22 February 2012
Questions (103, 104, 105)
Eoghan Murphy
Question:104 Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the need to provide multi-denominational schooling options at secondary level for those attending Educate Together schools at primary level. [10126/12]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 104 together.
The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government gives a commitment to move towards a more pluralist system of patronage at second level, recognising a wider number of patrons.
In June of last year I announced that 20 new second level schools would be established up to 2017 to meet increasing demographics. Applications for patronage of the new second level schools to be established in 2013 and 2014 have been sought by my Department from prospective patrons, including Educate Together, and the closing date for receipt of applications is 24th February 2012. My Department asked prospective patrons to register expressions of interest by Friday, 13th January 2012 of the areas where they intended making formal applications for patronage of the new schools. Details of these expressions of interest and the procedures and criteria for determining patronage of the new schools are available on the Department's website.
Clare Daly
Question:105 Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken during the past year to separate church and State in the field of education. [10136/12]
View answerCurrently 96% of primary schools are under denominational patronage, with almost 90% under the patronage of the Catholic Church. This reflects an historical legacy. Over recent decades, Irish society has undergone major political, social, cultural, demographic and educational change. At the same time a greater diversity of religious beliefs and non-belief systems within the population has emerged.
One of the key priorities in the Government for National Recovery 2011-2016 programme was the initiation of "a time-limited Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector to allow all stakeholders including parents to engage in open debate on change of patronage in communities where it is appropriate and necessary".
The Forum was launched in April 2011 and the work was overseen by an Advisory Group. Its terms of reference were, in summary, to advise the Minister on: 1. how the education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools catering for all religions and none; 2. the practicalities of divesting of patronage 3. how such transfer/divesting can be advanced. The Forum was to have regard for the expressed willingness of the Roman Catholic Church to consider divesting patronage of primary schools and the current financial constraints. The Advisory Group has concentrated on the above terms and also on how diversity within a stand alone school, in particular, could be achieved. I expect to be in a position to publish the Forum Report shortly. In June last year, I announced that 40 new schools would be established in the next six years and at the same time I set out the criteria for deciding on patronage of the new schools. Such criteria are to place a particular emphasis on parental demand forplurality and diversity of patronage.
In summary, the overall intention is to provide parents, where possible, with a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools catering for all religions and none and where it is only feasible to have a single school to ensure that it is inclusive and caters for the needs of all its pupils.