Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any plans to reverse the decision which mandates him to place minority faith secondary schools in the same category as fee-paying private Catholic secondary schools; if his attention has been drawn to the hardships that this designation is causing minority faith schools and families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40830/11]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rationale behind the withdrawal of support grants to Protestant faith schools in view of the impact of this on the pupil teacher ratio at such schools and the long standing safeguards in place to protect their viability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40846/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 138 together.

I refer the Deputy to the decision of the previous Government to remove certain funding from Protestant fee-charging schools in the Budget of October 2008. The previous Government also decided at that time make changes to how fee-charging schools should be treated in relation to the number of publicly funded teaching posts they are allowed. Teachers in fee-charging schools are currently allocated at a pupil teacher ratio of 20 to 1, which is a point higher than allocations in non fee-charging post-primary schools. As part of the Budget announced in December last, the pupil teacher ratio in fee-charging post-primary schools will be increased by 1 point to 21:1 with effect from the 2012/2013 school year. All schools will also be required to manage guidance provision from within their standard staffing schedule allocation.

The funding was withdrawn with effect from 1 January 2009 due to real concerns about the constitutionality of making grants available to fee-charging schools of one ethos and not to those of another. The Constitution specifically states that the State shall not discriminate against one religion in favour of another.

There are 26 distinctively Protestant schools, of which 20 charge fees. Many of the schools have a boarding facility, reflecting the dispersed nature of the communities across the country. The six Protestant schools within the free education scheme receive the same funding as all other schools within the free education system.

This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is paid to the Secondary Education Committee, an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the schools. The Secondary Education Committee then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of boarding fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.5 million annually.

In addition to this funding, teachers employed within the approved annual staffing allocation granted by my Department in fee-charging schools are paid by the State; an arrangement that pre-dates the introduction of free education arrangements and which has existed since the foundation of the state. The estimated cost of these posts is in the order of €100m. I am already on record as saying that this is not a simple matter as these arrangements, which are historic and of long standing, impact upon a substantial number of schools which cater for religious minorities.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures undertaken by him to recognise the diversity of the school going population, and to ensure that parents can access schools whose ethos reflects their own faith, in view of changes to the funding provided to such schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40845/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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In recognition of the increasing diversity of the school-going population and in order to improve the capacity of the school system to cater for that diversity, the measures I have undertaken since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills include: The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector - a key objective of the Programme for a National Government 2011 - 2016, was officially launched on 19th April, 2011. The terms of reference of the Forum are to advise me on: - how it can best be ensured that the education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools catering for all religions and none; - the practicalities of how transfer/divesting of patronage should operate for individual primary schools in communities where it is appropriate and necessary; and - how such transfer/divesting can be advanced to ensure that demands for diversity of patronage (including from an Irish language perspective) can be identified and met on a widespread basis nationally.

An Advisory Group appointed to convene the Forum has held a number of meetings in public, during June and November 2011and has sought and received submissions from the public as part of its work. The Group is currently finalising its report and I expect to receive it shortly.

I have also continued the piloting of the new Community National School model of primary school patronage and I will be considering the contribution which these schools can make to the patronage options at primary level in the context of the outcome of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector

In June of last year I announced that over 20 new primary schools and over 20 new post-primary schools are to be established in the next 6 years. At that time I also announced the establishment of new arrangements for the recognition of new primary and second-level schools.

The new arrangements provide a balanced approach to allow for applications to be made from prospective patrons of schools for the establishment of schools where the Department has identified that there is a demographic need for the school. The new arrangements will result in applications for patronage of new schools being considered having regard to criteria. The criteria place a particular emphasis on parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage. The new arrangements involve applications by patron bodies for the establishment of new schools in areas identified by the Department. Department officials will draft a report to be considered by the New Schools Establishment Group and it will submit a report with recommendations for my consideration. This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

With regard to the fee-charging Protestant secondary schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is paid to the Secondary Education Committee, an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the schools. The Secondary Education Committee then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of boarding fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.5 million annually.