Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1307. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to assist schools with divestment of patronage from religious orders. [33636/14]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide in tabular form the names of skills that are in the process of changing or plan to change patronage; their current patrons and prospective patrons. [33939/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1307 and 1376 together.

Five new primary schools opened at the start of the current school year under the patronage divestment process. All five schools are operating under the patronage of Educate Together. The details of the schools are contained in the attached table.

The Department engages directly with the main Catholic patrons in the areas identified for patronage divesting with the assistance of the Catholic Schools Partnership. The Patrons and the Catholic School Partnership engage with and support the catholic school community locally.

The focus is now on identifying viable start-up schools for 2015 and beyond and the Department is consulting with the Catholic patron representatives and bodies such as Educate Together in this exercise. It is too early at this stage to say where new schools may commence under the divestment process in 2015.

Schools opened under patronage divesting process September 2013