James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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480. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46628/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The site to which the Deputy refers is a zoned site to meet a potential future school requirement in the settlement in order to serve newly establishing neighbourhood(s). At this point, given the early stage of development, there is not yet a requirement to establish an additional school in order to meet a demographic need but this site is positioned to meet to meet a future anticipated need. The matter will be kept under review as development proceeds.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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481. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to open an Educate Together primary school in Dungarvan, County Waterford; if the location is part of an envisaged reconfiguration process; the potential timescale for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46648/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The patronage divesting process arises from the recommendations of the 2012 report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector, following which my Department undertook surveys of parental preferences in 43 areas of stable population in 2012 and 2013 to establish the level of parental demand for a wider choice in the patronage of primary schools within these areas. Analysis of the parental preferences expressed in each area surveyed indicated that there was sufficient parental demand to support changes in school patronage in 28 areas, including in Dungarvan.

Under the patronage divesting process, a school can be opened where a school building became, or was due to become available as a result of an amalgamation/closure of an existing school. In some areas, including in the case of Dungarvan, in responding to demand for diversity where existing patrons were unable make school properties available, my Department also included an examination of properties held in public ownership.

To date, it has not been possible to secure a school property to facilitate a new school under the divesting process being established in Dungarvan. However, my Department is continuing its efforts in relation to identifying a suitable solution under the patronage divesting process.

In parallel with the Divesting process, my Department is continuing to work with stakeholders to progress delivery of the Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity process which

has been developed in order to accelerate the delivery of multi-denominational schools across the country. This Reconfiguration process involves the transfer of existing live schools as opposed to the amalgamation and/or closure model of the patronage divesting process.

The initial identification phase of the process involved each of the 16 Education and Training Boards identifying an initial pilot area within their functional area where they considered there may be unmet oncoming demand for a multi-/non-denominational school and arranging for surveys of parents of pre-school children in these areas. The Department has been engaging with representatives of the Irish Episcopal Conference (Catholic Bishops) with a view to developing an agreed approach to the next Phase of the process. The identification phase work provides useful learning and is informing the development of the process.

The “Early Movers” provision of the Schools Reconfiguration process enables school communities which have already decided to seek a transfer of patronage (independent of the survey process envisaged as part of the Reconfiguration process) to engage with their school patron on the matter. A patron may transfer patronage under section 8 of the Education Act 1998. A number of patronage changes have taken place in recent years in this context, resulting in the provision of an additional 11 multi-denominational Community National Schools. In addition, an Irish-medium gaelscoil has recently changed patronage from its Catholic patron to An Foras Pátrúnachta. From September 2021, this school offers parents of junior infants the choice of undertaking an Ethics and Morality Program and, for parents who so chose, a Catholic programme is provided.