Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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539. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will bring forward changes to the Education Act 1998 to enable the teaching of the curriculum in an objective and pluralist manner and not informed by religious ethos; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45217/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the primary school sector, which issued its report in 2012, recommended steps that could be taken to ensure that the education system can provide a sufficiently diverse number and range of primary schools to cater for children of all religions and none. A follow-up paper to the Forum Report entitled "Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector: Progress to Date and Future Directions" was published in July 2014. This paper outlined the progress made to date on implementing the Forum's recommendations with a particular focus on the issue of inclusion and diversity in schools.

Last month the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment launched a consultation process on proposals for a curriculum in Education about Religions and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics, in line with the recommendations of the Forum. The consultation will run until spring 2016 and the NCCA aims to engage with as many stakeholders as possible to ensure balance in the development of a curriculum for ERB and Ethics.