Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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309. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to ensure the requirement that faith formation in State funded schools is confined to a distinct period of time, not permeated throughout the school day and taught after core school hours so that parents can choose if their children receive religious instruction in a particular religion; to avoid the community national school model of schools which segregate children during the school day and fail to treat children of all beliefs and none with equal respect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10301/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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311. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to promote faith formation to the end or start of the school day to allow families to opt in as opposed to forcing families to opt out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10303/16]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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312. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to develop and issue clear guidelines in order that children of any faith and none who wish to opt out of a patron’s religious instruction have the right and opportunity to do so in all schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10304/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions 309, 311 and 312 together.

Religious education is one of the seven curricular areas of the Primary Curriculum and schools are currently required to allocate thirty minutes per day for religious instruction. However, unlike other subject areas, the content of the religious curriculum provided by schools is not set by my Department. The Education Act recognises the rights of the different church authorities to design curricula in religious education and to supervise their teaching and implementation. This means that the content of the religious education programme in a particular primary school is determined by the patron of the school.

This is similar to post primary level, where a programme of religious instruction approved by the school patron may be offered. However, post primary schools also have the option of using the Religious Education curriculum which has been designed as an examinable subject at Junior and Leaving Certificate by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The NCCA syllabuses are academic in nature. They are concerned with understanding religion as a phenomenon in the world and are designed to be studied by students of all religious faiths and of none. A new specification for Junior Cycle Religious Education will be introduced for first year students from September 2019 and assessed in 2022 for the first time.

Under the Constitution and in accordance with the Education Act 1998, parents have a right to have their children opt out of religion classes if they wish. The practical arrangements to accommodate children whose parents have chosen this option is a matter for each individual school to arrange locally. As part of the programme for government is a commitment to publish a new school Admissions and Excellence legislation taking account current draft proposals, which included a provision for schools to indicate in their enrolment policies how they would facilitate requests to opt out of religious instruction.

You should also note that in January of this year Rule 68 of the Rules for National Schools was rescinded. The Rule, which dates from 1965 refers to religious instruction as by far the most important part of the school curriculum and provides that a religious spirit should "inform and vivify the whole work of the school."

In relation to the reference to Community National Schools (CNS), I can advise that CNS are multi-denominational schools which welcome children of all faiths and none. A multi-belief Religious Education programme entitled Goodness Me! Goodness You! (GMGY) provides for the delivery of religious education and faith nurturing in the CNSs. GMGY caters for children of all faith and belief perspectives, with content appropriate for both theist and non-theist perspectives. The GMGY core programme is taught to all children in one group irrespective of their belief. For three to four weeks each year, during the two and a half hours per week allocated for religious education, faith and belief-specific teaching is provided to children whose parents have opted for them to receive such teaching.