Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason or reasons for postponing the submission date in relation to the patronage of schools to 24 February; the weighting that will be applied to families who have more than one child in the eligible consultation category; if it will be numbers alone that will determine the patronage or will other criteria apply; if so, the criteria that will be applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39841/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As part of the recent process of briefing patrons in relation to applications for patronage of the new schools, a number of queries were raised with the Department about possible applications for patronage which involve partnerships between two or more patrons. These issues chiefly concerned the particular patronage model that would apply where two or more patrons intended to have a joint or co-patronage role or arrangement in any of the new schools. The Department undertook to examine the issues further and then issue clarification on the matter. The deadline for receipt of applications for patronage of new second level schools to be established in 2013 and 2014 was Friday 13th January 2012. Given that prospective patrons will need some time to consider possible applications and the options for co-operation with each other, it is proposed to allow an extra six weeks for this and therefore the deadline for receipt of applications has been moved to Friday 24th February 2012. Details of the new arrangements for patronage of new schools and the criteria for deciding on patronage of these new schools is available on my Department's website, www.education.ie.