Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to go back to the issue of patronage and the possibility of bringing in a large number of patrons. The Minister for Education and Skills indicated after he was appointed to the Department that he wished to see up to 50% of schools change patronage during his term of office. The reality of how that has progressed is very different. It proved to be quite an incendiary statement by the Minister. I would be interested to know more about the Dublin Archdiocese's 466 schools. They are in close proximity to one another in a way that is not necessarily the case in other parts of the country. Many rural areas, in particular, are served by just one school. One will not find anywhere with a wider choice of schools, where parents have access to more schools within a reasonable distance, than one will find in the area covered by the Archdiocese of Dublin. I would be interested to know more. Can Ms McDonagh elaborate further on her engagement with the Department on the Minister's stated objective of changing the patronage of a significant number of schools? What level of discussion has taken place? On how many of its 466 schools has the archdiocese had discussions with the Minister about a programme of change of patronage?