90% of primary schools are Catholic

IN the last five years more than 50 primary schools have opened around the country, mostly in areas where new communities have grown around housing developments.

Just over half of them are multi-denominational, with 19 of them under Educate Together’s patronage. 

Multi-denominational schools — where children of all faiths and none have equal access to enrolment, and instruction in each child’s religion is generally done outside school time — now account for about 2% of the country’s 3,169 primary schools.

But while they dominate new schools being developed, Catholic bishops are patrons to 13 new primary schools in the same five years and one in every four of the 100 to open in the last decade. 

Although slightly falling as a proportion due to other models, 90% of all primary schools are still under Catholic patronage.

Around a handful of our primary schools are inter-denominational, where two faiths are represented, such as Catholic and Church of Ireland. 

A number of these are under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta, which has opened more than 20 of its 57 gaelscoileanna in the last decade.

The issues to be closely scrutinised by a forum on primary school patronage announced by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn this week relate more to areas of restricted population growth. 

Because the number of primary-aged pupils is not rising rapidly in these towns and suburbs, there is little scope to provide new school buildings or staff and pressure is coming on the bishops to make schools available for families who want an alternative to a Catholic-ethos school.

Among those who will be invited to take part in the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector are representatives of religious leaders and other patrons, school management, parents, teachers and principals.

A number of public meetings are also proposed to be held by the forum’s advisory group, chaired by John Coolahan former education professor at NUI Maynooth.

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