My Department has prioritised a more pluralist system of patronage for our schools. In this regard, new arrangements were put in place in 2011 for the establishment of new primary and post-primary schools. These arrangements give parents an opportunity to express their preference for the type of new school to be established. Thirty-six new schools have opened under this new process since 2011, thirty-four of which are multi-denominational. Parental preferences will also be key to the patronage of the new schools opening in September 2016 and subsequent years to meet demographic demand for school places, including those opening in areas adjacent to the Dublin 6W area. My Department officials will keep the demographic data for a number of areas nationwide, including the Dublin 6W area, under review, taking into account updated enrolment data and the impact of ongoing and planned expansion of capacity in this, and adjacent, feeder areas. My Department has also been working on expanding diversity of provision in the existing primary school network. To this end, my Department officials have been in on-going engagement with Catholic Church representatives to progress the reconfiguration of school patronage in particular areas. To date, eight new primary schools have opened under the patronage divesting process and work is on-going to deliver further options for school patronage diversity in other areas as quickly as possible. In this regard, my Department officials and Archdiocesan authorities have agreed in principle to bring a former school property in Dublin 12 back into use as a school to provide public primary education under new patronage arrangements. My officials and the Archdiocesan representatives are continuing to work closely on the practicalities of the transfer issues involved.
