Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask about the commitment in the programme for Government regarding the divestment of schools. The programme for Government commits to ensuring plurality in regard to choice in education and progress on this has been extremely slow. Survey after survey shows the majority of parents want to send their children to secular, co-educational schools but the places are not there to meet the demand. In my constituency, a survey of parents in one area showed just 5% of the respondents wanted single-sex, religious secondary schools, yet five of the seven secondary schools in the area surveyed are single-sex, church-run schools.

What is the Government doing to accelerate the process of divestment? Will it commit to prioritising funding in order that new, secular, co-educational secondary schools will be provided?

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