Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 438: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason Educate Together received no State funding towards its learn together curriculum when protestant and catholic patron bodies receive 100% funding for entire religious education departments in all teacher-training colleges. [38827/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The position is that the revised primary school curriculum, which was introduced in 1999, does not include a curriculum for religious education. In drawing up the primary school curriculum, it was acknowledged that the curriculum for RE is the responsibility of the different religious authorities, which have traditionally designed curricula, arranged and funded associated in-service development programmes for teachers, and supervised the implementation of curricula in schools.

Given the position of religious education vis-À-vis the primary school curriculum, it follows that the evaluation of religious education in schools is not carried out by my Department's inspectorate. Instead, it has been the tradition that religious education is examined by appropriate personnel appointed by the relevant religious patron.

Under the Constitution, the State guarantees not to endow any particular religion and the rights of parents regarding non-participation by children in religious education derive from the relevant provisions of the Constitution.

Educate Together schools are staffed primarily by teachers trained in the colleges of education. The colleges of education take different approaches in the area of religious education. In the larger colleges, part of the B.Ed. programme provides all student teachers with two methodology courses in religious education, curriculum religion. These courses focus on the teaching of the subject in the classroom. Student teachers, who wish to do so, may also take religious studies as an academic subject in the B.Ed. programme.

The question of the development of an ethical programme suitable to the needs of Educate Together schools is a matter for the patron and management authorities of the schools. In this regard, I am asking the teacher education section of my Department to establish a working group to explore with Educate Together and the colleges of education how best training support in this area can be made available.