Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

Patronage is one of our most active policy and implementation areas. Arrangements are in place for the Minister to decide on the patronage of new primary and post-primary schools. Our new schools establishment group invites applications from people in areas where new schools are to be located. Decisions are made based on criteria. Arising from these decisions, a variety of new patronage arrangements are emerging. For example, Educate Together is involved in three emerging models at second level. Under one model, Educate Together is to be the direct patron - the sole patron, as it were - of a school that will open in west Dublin in September 2014. It is to be joint patron with County Louth Vocational Education Committee, VEC, of a new second level community school that is due to open in September 2014. It has a partnership in the patronage role of County Dublin VEC in the designated community college model of a school that is opening in Clonburris in Lucan, also in September 2014. Educate Together is moving into that sector.

Changes in the patronage of existing primary schools have been the subject of great debate. We held a forum on patronage and so on. Arising out of that process, we are in discussions with the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, ERST, concerning a school in Basin Lane, Dublin 8. We have requested the Catholic Church authorities to consider divesting schools in five areas in which we have completed surveys. We have completed 38 surveys, but we are still working through the findings. We are likely to publish the findings within the next four to six weeks.

We have not had a formal process to consider changes in patronage at post-primary level. This is partly because the policy agenda is so busy. Another reason is that the key driver of changes to primary schools was the number of people who were limited to English-medium or denominational education and desired to have multidenominational or Irish medium provision. An exact parallel is not found in post-primary provision, as choices other than straight denominational options are in place, for example, in the VEC, community and comprehensive sectors.

There have been patronage changes at post-primary level. It is an issue that we are actively examining. It is linked with a contentious issue, that of rationalisation and amalgamations. We are finalising work on a value for money review of small primary schools, in which context the rationalisation issue arises. We are considering an analysis to consider post-primary infrastructure and the potential for rationalisation, which may have implications for patronage. In particular, we are considering possibilities in a couple of urban areas in several cities. It is an active policy agenda.