Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The basis for recognising new primary schools derives from the provisions of the Education Act 1998 which allows a prospective patron to seek approval for a school that reflects the characteristic spirit of the sponsor. More recently, through the establishment of the new school advisory committee my Department has put in place a structured, open, transparent and consultative process under which all applications for new schools are processed. The membership of the committee reflects the current diversity of interests at primary level. This approach to new school recognition has enabled schools reflecting diverse interests to be established over recent years. These include single faith schools, including two Muslim schools, and a growing number of schools under the patronage of Educate Together and Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna LánGhaeilge. In the past year a new school was established under the joint patronage of the local Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic bishops.

I am fully conscious that as our population becomes increasingly culturally diverse and secular there will be a need to keep our approach to new primary school formation under review. The challenge is to ensure that diversity can be accommodated and that primary school provision is sufficiently inclusive. This does not mean that the position of established providers both of long-standing and more recent origin should be supplanted to make way for an entirely new model. The test will be how we accommodate difference and ensure tolerance rather than pursuing a one size fits all approach.

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