Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Education was in touch with my office to state she has other commitments this evening. Therefore, I appreciate the attendance of the Minister of State. I am interested in hearing what he has to say on behalf of the Government.

The Minister of State will appreciate that when Deputies get 20 or 30 emails on a particular issue, they know something has gone drastically wrong.

A review of the schools in Raheny parish is taking place. When I made contact with the office of the archbishop, the representative informed me this is one of a number of reviews. I understand 29 schools in 11 parishes, of which Raheny is one, are under review. I was told there is an independent facilitator whose role is to consult, listen and be part of the information flow. This is a process done in tandem with the patron body and Department of Education. Given that I used to be in that position as a school principal, as a rule I do not get involved in individual school issues regarding the future. It is an issue for an individual school and its patron body. These matters do not need to be politicised unnecessarily. However, this has a political component to it because the Department of Education is involved. The process is being so mishandled that, regardless of one's view on the future of primary schools in Raheny, everybody would feel as if they are not being heard, the independent facilitator is not doing the job properly and there has to be a restart.

Anybody who knows anything about my politics will know that I believe in divestment and that having a disproportionate number of schools under one particular patron is not healthy. Anybody who knows anything about my political view would know that I do not believe single gender schools, in particular at primary level, can stand up to scrutiny. In Raheny there are two single gender schools and a mixed infant school and, I understand, after a period of consultation there is a proposal that one school would divest and the two remaining schools under Catholic patronage may be reconfigured along co-educational lines.

Speaking to the representative of the archbishop, I asked him plainly whether there is an absolute guarantee that anyone who wants to have his or her child educated through the Catholic ethos in Raheny will have capacity for that to continue into the future. He said, categorically, "Yes". He said that to me, but that is not the understanding or knowledge of many people who have contacted me.

I ask that the Minister of Education take control of the situation because clearly if people are forced to contact a local representative, they feel they are not being heard. We also need to hear the views of those who do not have children currently attending schools in Raheny but who live in the area. They may have a one, two or three-year-old child and would like to know if they could have some say as to what the reconfiguration of schools would be.

To put it bluntly, this situation has got out of control. It is not working for anybody, including staff or parents. I ask the Minister for Education to intervene and ensure that the independent facilitator of the process does his job effectively because currently there is a lot of concern and insecurity about the future of schools and people feel as if they are not being listened to.

See this speech in context