Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is the key point in this regard.

With regard to schools, there are now 159 primary schools with a multidenominational ethos. That is nine above the 2009 figure of 150. At post-primary level, the number of multidenominational schools has increased by circa 11%, from 321 in 2009 to 359 in 2020. That is 359 out of 800 or 850, if I am not mistaken. I can check that figure. It has moved much more quickly at post-primary level.

I accept elements of what Deputy Tóibín said. In 1998, the idea was to establish a pluralist basis for education and to give parents the right to choose a particular form of education. There were different patrons, including Gaelscoil patrons and Educate Together. By the way, as Minister for Education, I facilitated the growth of Educate Together by reducing the contribution that patrons had to make towards site acquisition. At the time, that condition was very prohibitive and was the biggest barrier to building new schools. There are other patrons for religious ethos schools, including Church of Ireland and Catholic schools, and various trusts have been set up as the orders have declined in numbers. What has evolved over time is a pluralist system of provision. That has been made possible by State investment. It is a more expensive model than simply providing one uniform type of school across the board.

I favour greater involvement of the education and training boards in any new schools at primary level because they have capacity and resources to provide for schools. When I was last in government, that Government was the first to develop State-owned vocational education committee, VEC, primary schools in the Dublin area, where there were fast growing populations and a need for such schools. Multidenominational patrons and Educate Together have grown their administrative capacity to be able to accommodate the expansion of multidenominational and non-denominational education. Equally, if parents want to send their children to a school with a particular religious ethos, they are entitled to do so. Plebiscites are held in given locations. There is transparent election in which parents vote for their choice of school patron.

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