Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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109. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether separate religious instruction is immediately necessary to allow for children not of the patron's faith to attend their local national school; the steps he will take to ensure this is in place for enrolments in 2016 given the report of the constitution review group, 1996, as repeated in the report of the forum on patronage and pluralism in the primary sector, 2012, indicating that religious instruction in national schools must be carried out separately to conform with the Constitution and that this must be changed to allow for multiple religious denominations in all national schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20082/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Religious education is one of the seven curricular areas of the 1999 Primary School Curriculum. Under Article 44 of the Constitution, all parents have the right to withdraw their child from religious instruction in school. Furthermore, under Section 30 of the Education Act 1998, a student cannot be required to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parent of the student or, in the case of a student who is 18 or more, the student him/herself.

The proposed Admission to Schools Bill includes a specific requirement that school enrolment policies must include details of the school's arrangements for any students who do not wish to attend religious instruction. This is an important measure which will help ensure transparency from the outset as to how a school will uphold the rights of parents in this regard.

The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was established to look at how schools can cater for diversity and ensure an inclusive and respectful environment for all their pupils. The Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum took account of the findings and conclusions of previous groups and committees, such as those of the Constitution Review Group of 1996.

With regard to denominational religious education, the Forum Report did not recommend that religious instruction be removed from the school day, and the Advisory Group made a number of suggestions regarding practical and timetable options for religious education. 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 2014 and encourages school authorities to consider their policies and practices in a number of areas, including the right to opt out of religion classes and the scheduling of such classes.

The Advisory Group also recommended that Rule 68 of the Rules for National Schools, which referred to a religious spirit informing and vivifying the work of the school, be deleted. Rule 68 was rescinded in January of this year.

The Programme for Government commits the Government to strengthening parental choice and diversity in our school system, in order to ensure that it reflects the diversity of modern Ireland. This includes a commitment to aim to increase the number of non-denominational and multi-denominational schools to 400 by 2030.