Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sure Mr. Rowe himself will respond but I would merely say this. He and Ms Quinn have put forward a strong argument about the lack of choice for parents currently. That is the issue. There are so many parents in Ireland who would like an alternative to a Catholic education for their children and for whom, as they stated, this is not available, with only 2% of primary schools currently under Educate Together. I am somebody who has a strong interest in this and has set up a local school which is being inundated with requests. As Mr. Rowe states, there is enormous demand for places in the small number of Educate Together schools nationally.

As for my question, they acknowledged the positive engagement by the Minister for Education and Skills with this issue and the process of dialogue and consultation that has gone on with the surveys of the 41 areas, the national forum, etc. What extra specifically should be done to speed up the process of divestment, the need for which, in fairness, the Catholic Church, particularly Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, has been cognisant of? They have been to the fore of acknowledging the need for greater parental choice in education. It is in everyone's interest that the process is speeded up and that we see more schools divesting and more parental choice. How does one actually do this? Given that there is a positive will within the Department for this, what are the practical steps we could recommend?