Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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132. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether there are grounds for opening a national school in an area in which a lack of choice has been identified; and if so, the steps a community interest group should take to establish such a school. [7469/17]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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146. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider the proposed divestment process and establish an independent working group with representatives of all the patron bodies to formulate a transparent process that puts parents' wishes at the centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7669/17]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider his decision to give the Catholic Church the final say over which patron to divest schools to, in view of the existing disproportionate influence the church has over primary education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7670/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 132, 146 and 147 together.

As the Deputies will be aware I announced last week new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment in this area.

This will involve the Education and Training Boards in the initial phase, as the State’s local education authorities, identifying areas where there is likely to be demand for greater diversity and they will work with pre-school services to establish evidence of this demand among the cohort of pre-school parents. There will then be discussions between individual ETBs and the existing patrons/landowners concerning the possible transfer of schools to accommodate this demonstrated demand for diversity.

Each ETB will then prepare a report for the Department outlining the levels of demand within their functional areas and the responses of the existing patrons as to how this might be accommodated through the reconfiguration of existing school provision.

In the subsequent implementation phase, where the level of demand for multi-denominational schools is sufficient to justify transfer of a school from denominational to multi-denominational patronage, a process will commence to give effect to that. There will be a role for the existing patron/landowner in consulting with local community and school interests and taking into account proposals from different prospective multi-denominational patrons. It is envisaged that transfers will largely be by way of voluntary transfer of live schools by existing patrons.

This new process for supporting transfers of schools to multi-denominational patrons in response to the wishes of local families is based around principles of transparency and cooperation. Therefore, there will be a very substantial level of consultation of local communities in the process, both with the ETBs’ in the initial phase to establish evidence of demand by consulting pre-school parents and subsequently through the requirement for the existing patron to consult with local community and school interests in proposing to transfer patronage of an existing school to an alternative patron body. In that process, the existing patron will also take into account proposals from all prospective multi-denominational patrons that wish to be considered.  I would urge all parties to engage in this process constructively, with a view to reaching solutions to meet parental preferences.

In addition to progressing the reconfiguration of existing school provision to provide greater choice to parents nationwide, the Government is committed to ensuring that parental preferences will continue to be key to patronage decisions on new schools established in areas of demographic growth. When it is decided that a new school is required to meet demographic needs in an area, my Department runs a separate patronage process to decide who will operate the school. It is open to all patrons and prospective patrons to apply for patronage of the school under this process and the level of parental preference for each patron in addition to the extent of diversity already in the area, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of the process.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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133. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 12 July 2016 to outline the status of the process discussed; his views on the issue of the lack of school places in the Dublin 6 area, with particular reference to non-denominational schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7492/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the patronage process for the nine new post-primary schools which will open in September 2017 and 2018, which I referenced in my July response to the Deputy, has been completed.  As I announced in November 2016, the new post-primary school which will open in 2018 to serve the areas of Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 will open as a multi-denominational school under the patronage of Educate Together.

The patronage process for the four new primary schools which will open in 2017 and 2018, including the new primary school to serve the Dublin South City Centre areas of Dublin 2, 4 and 6 is ongoing. My Department is currently assessing the applications received. This assessment stage involves very detailed work, including geo-coding each parental preference received to establish if they represent a parent of a child living in the school planning area the school is set up to serve. Following completion of this detailed analysis, my Department will prepare detailed assessment reports in relation to each of these new schools based on the applications received. These will then be submitted to the New Schools Establishment Group for their consideration. Following completion of Group's work, they will submit a report with recommendations to me for my consideration and final decision.

As with other school planning areas nationwide, the demographic data for the Dublin 6 area is being kept under ongoing review by my Department to take account of updated child benefit data and updated enrolment data and also the impact of ongoing and planned capacity increases in these, and adjoining, school planning areas.

The Deputy may be aware that I recently announced new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment in this area.

This will involve the Education and Training Boards in the initial phase, as the State’s local education authorities, identifying areas where there is likely to be demand for greater diversity and they will work with pre-school services to establish evidence of this demand among the cohort of pre-school parents. This provides an opportunity nationwide for the provision of additional multi-denominational and non-denominational schools.