Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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274. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the policies in place for schools with pupils who wish to opt-out of religious education classes; the way her Department will support parents and schools where pupils choose to opt-out of religious education classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7855/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under Article 44 of the Constitution, parents have a right to have their children opt out of religious instruction classes if they so wish. Additionally, section 30 of the 1998 Education Act provides that a child is not required to attend instruction in any subject that is contrary to the conscience of the parent, this also applies to students over the age of 18. It is expected that this right will be upheld by schools on foot of a parental request.

Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, where schools provide religious instruction, they must clearly set out in their admission policies the school’s arrangements for students, where the parent or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, has requested that the student attend the school without attending religious instruction in the school.

The manner in which any school ensures that the right to opt out of religion instruction classes is upheld, is a matter for the school concerned. Each individual school must determine the particular arrangements which are most appropriate in its individual circumstances having regard to local issues such as available space, supervision requirements and how the school concerned organises classes etc.

The right of parents to have their child opt out of religion instruction classes applies in all schools regardless of the denomination or ethos of the school concerned.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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275. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given that the Dublin 8 school zone is an area in which there is not currently sufficient provision of secondary places for all primary students as per departmental figures, and given that many parts of Dublin 8 have experienced significant population growth in recent years, the justification that is given by her Department for not constructing a new school in the area [7862/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform my Department's projections of school place requirements.

Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each local authority to obtain the up-to-date data on significant new residential development in each area. My Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity within the particular area and its ability to meet increased demand.

Where data indicates that additional provision is required at primary or post primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:

- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,

- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,

- Provision of a new school or schools.

While the Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in the Dublin 8 area, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:

- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area

- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in otherschools in the town/area

- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they arenot available to all pupils

- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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276. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given that the Dublin 8 school zone does not currently have a multi-denominational secondary school, and given that the area has one of the highest proportions of residents who do not identify as 'Catholic' or 'Church of Ireland', the justification that is given by her Department for not providing multi-denominational education in this area [7863/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Since 2011, new arrangements have been in place for the establishment of new schools involving the forecasting of demand for school places based on demographic exercises carried out by the Department. New schools are only established in areas of demographic growth as the resources available for school infrastructure have to be prioritised to meet the needs of areas of significant population increase so as to ensure that every child has a school place.

The arrangements also give an opportunity to patrons to apply for the patronage of new schools. The criteria used in deciding on the patronage of new schools place a particular emphasis on parental patronage and language preferences and an analysis of existing provision in the areas where the schools are being established. This approach is underpinned by a 2011 Government Decision.

The patronage process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. An Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been in operation under the Department since 2018 and provides objective information to parents in the relevant school planning areas to assist them in making an informed choice about their preferred model of patronage and language of instruction for the new school.

A prospective patron can chose the school(s) it wishes to apply for and complete an application form in that regard for each school, for submission to my Department. The Department provides details on the OPPS of the school(s) and the list of applicant patrons which have applied for patronage of the school(s). Parents can then access the OPPS website, which allows them to access the appropriate survey for their area, to input the details of the eligible child(ren) and to select their preferred patron

Parental preferences from parents of children who reside in the school planning areas concerned, together with the extent of diversity currently available in these areas, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of the process.

The patronage process for new schools is overseen by an external independent advisory group, the New Schools Establishment Group (NSEG). This Group was set up to advise the Minister on the patronage of new schools. Following their consideration of the Department’s assessment reports, the NSEG submits a report with recommendations to me for consideration and final decision. The assessment reports and the NSEG recommendations for all such patronage processes are made available on the education section of the gov.ie website.