Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is very difficult to answer that question as there is a certain amount of theory involved. If no proposal has been received by the Minister to date, this is still very much a localised process. With regard to who is the patron, I would have thought the answer could be divined through the various schools involved in the process. In the absence of any application, correspondence or proposal to the Department or Minister, it could be argued that we are blind to any proposal. Therefore, notwithstanding the level of public sentiment expressed at the public meeting about the process, no clarification or correspondence has been provided to us either at a political or departmental level. We await such correspondence, should it arise. The question of the patron remains to be answered and perhaps I can provide assistance to the Senator in due course.