Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the recently announced funding for multi-denominational schools. The Minister will accept that choice by its nature means cost but there is a growing number of people who want the option of choosing multi-denominational or non-denominational schools for their children. In some areas, there are existing schools with empty classrooms as parents are choosing for one reason or other to send their children to other schools. With growing choices, this trend will increase. While I appreciate it is a difficult area, has the Minister had negotiations with church bodies in using classrooms in existing schools for multi-denominational schools?

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