Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 13: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, in respect of the two community national schools operating in north County Dublin, the question on the application form for admission regarding the religion of the child is a mandatory question or one that is voluntary and can therefore be left unanswered by the parents of the child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19244/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The new community national schools welcome and respect children of all faiths and none. They recognise and aim to accommodate the wishes of parents to have their children receive religious education within the school day and also cater for parents who do not wish their children to receive religious education based on any one particular faith. Therefore the admission form for the community national schools includes a question seeking information on religion. It is not compulsory for the parents to declare their religion when enrolling children in the schools and a number of parents of children currently enrolled in each school have declined to provide this information.

For operational reasons and to assist the evaluation of community national school pilot model, it is helpful to know what religions and faiths are represented in the schools. The pilot phase provides an opportunity to test approaches to the practical issues that arise and to draw lessons from that experience that can allow the model to be developed and refined.