Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 February 2022
102. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the progress made in achieving at least 400 multi-denominational primary schools by 2030 as committed to in the Programme for Government. [4821/22]
View answerThe Government’s objective is to have at least 400 multi-denominational schools in the primary system by 2030 to improve parental choice.
I fully support this commitment and am working with my Department to develop a number of different approaches in the context of an expanding population in some areas and an increasing demand for multi-denominational education. The Schools Reconfiguration process, along with approaches such as the patronage divesting process, voluntary reassignments of patronage under Section 8 of the Education Act 1998 and the patronage process for new schools, which includes consideration of parental preferences for different types of school patron, will contribute to the achievement of this target. In recent years there has been progress towards increasing the numbers of multi-denominational primary schools with the vast majority of new primary schools established to cater for demographic demand in the last decade having a multi-denominational ethos.
The Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity process, supporting transfers of schools to multi-denominational patrons in response to the wishes of local families, has been developed in order to accelerate the delivery of multi-denominational schools across the country. This Reconfiguration process involves the transfer of existing live schools as opposed to the amalgamation and/or closure model of the patronage divesting process.
The “Early Movers” provision of the schools reconfiguration process enables school communities that have already decided to seek a transfer of patronage to engage with their school patron on the matter. A patron may transfer patronage under section 8 of the Education Act 1998. A number of patronage changes have taken place in recent years in this context, resulting in the provision of an additional 11 multi-denominational Community National Schools (three of which already had a multi-denominational ethos). In addition in 2021, an Irish-medium gaelscoil transferred patronage from its Catholic patron to An Foras Pátrúnachta. This school now offers parents of junior infants the choice of undertaking an Ethics and Morality Programme or a Catholic Programme.
In September 2022 another planned primary school patronage transfer, from Catholic patronage to the local Education and Training Board, to become a multi-denominational Community National School is expected to take place.
The Department of Education has been engaging with representatives of the Irish Episcopal Conference (Catholic bishops) as the majority patron of schools nationwide with a view to developing an agreed approach to the next phase of the reconfiguration process.
School communities who wish to explore the potential to transfer patronage should contact their school patron in the first instance.
