Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Although this issue is not directly connected to his Department, it is an extremely important matter in the north side of Cork city. There is a proposed amalgamation and reconfiguration of schools in the area and one is Scoil Mhuire Fatima, or North Mon. That school has 170 students and no infant classes; if it had a full complement, it would probably have over 200 students because the infant classes are dealt with at the North Presentation school and St. Vincent's school. When this proposal arose, there was no consultation with parents, teachers or boards of management.

The proposal is for the amalgamation of North Mon with St. Vincent's and there is major concern among parents and teachers that the facilities at St. Vincent's are inadequate with regard to play areas, for example. The proposal would also have a Gaelscoil at Farranferris move to North Mon. There is concern that the proposal seems to be going ahead with little or no consultation with parents, teachers or the principals of the schools. I attended a meeting of over 250 parents recently and major concerns were expressed. The Minister should get involved in the issue as there is no support for the proposal as it currently exists. The Gaelscoil could still be accommodated at North Mon without the primary school moving to St. Vincent's. This concern has been expressed by parents, teachers and the principal at North Mon. It should be taken on board by the Minister.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Quinn. As a Minister of State in the Department of Education and Skills and being from Cork I am very much aware of the issue at hand. I thank Senator Burke for raising the matter as it offers us the opportunity to clarify the current position of the proposed amalgamation and reconfiguration of primary schools on the north side of Cork City. I advise the Senator that we are aware that a consultation process has been initiated involving North Presentation primary school, St. Vincent's girls' primary school, Scoil Mhuire Fatima - or North Mon primary school - and Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers.

As the Senator may be aware, the initiative for any amalgamation or reconfiguration of schools may come from a variety of sources, such as parents, staff, boards of management and patrons. Any such proposal must involve consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders and follow decisions taken at local level. In that regard, any proposed changes must be well planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of parents, teachers and local communities, which is a key point, and contributes to an inclusive education system. It is a matter for the relevant school authorities, including the parents and school community, to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.

I confirm that although the decision making authority for the amalgamation of any school belongs to the patron of the schools concerned, such a proposal is then subject to the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills. With regard to the primary school amalgamation and reconfiguration being proposed, I understand that details of this proposal has recently been sent to the boards of management, staff and parents of the four schools involved. It is understood that when the consultation process is concluded, the trustees of the schools concerned will make a recommendation to the patron for his decision in the matter.

In that regard, I confirm that to date the Minister has not received any proposal from the patron or trustees in the matter. I thank the Senator again for giving me the opportunity to clarify the current position.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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There is some confusion about who is the patron. My understanding is that North Mon is owned by the Christian Brothers and they have decided to move the school. Will the Minister of State clarify who is the patron? If the legal owners decide that this is what they want and if the parents, teachers, board of management and principal of the school are not in favour of the proposal, where does that leave the Department?

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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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.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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That would be very much appreciated as there was confusion at the public meeting. It was alleged that one party was a patron but that party denied it. The issue should be clarified.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I hope the matter will be sorted out.