Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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153. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on whether it is acceptable that there could be no all-girls school in a large area of Cork city particularly given the vulnerability of certain young girls and the need for same to attend a same-sex school. [24752/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, there are ten non-fee paying all-girls post primary schools in Cork City. The decision-making authority in respect of the status of existing schools, including whether they are single or mixed gender, belongs to the Patron, subject to the agreement of my Department.

New schools are established by my Department to meet demographic need and, generally, such new school provision (primary and post-primary) is mixed gender in nature.Co-educational schools provide greater flexibility than single sex schools in terms of meeting demographic and school accommodation requirements in an area. Single-gender provision may, however, be made if there is an identified imbalance between the capacities of single-gender schools in the area.

All schools are required to have procedures in place to ensure the safety of all students, irrespective of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. These requirements include the provision of Social, Personal and Health Education (including Relationships and Sexuality Education) at primary level, and at post-primary level, the provision of Social, Personal and Health Education ; Civic, Social and Political Education; and Relationships and Sexuality Education. In addition, schools are required to comply with the provisions of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017, a fundamental principle of which is that all schools must keep pupils/students safe from harm while attending the school or while participating in school activities. My Department has also put in place a range of oversight measures to help ensure that all schools comply with these procedures.