Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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352. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she plans to support the call by Education Equality for the Government to compel schools to confine religious faith formation and worship to a period outside core school hours, in order to uphold families’ human and constitutional rights to freedom of religion and belief, and to vindicate the rights of teachers who do not wish to indoctrinate children into a faith they do not themselves hold; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42749/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The patron of the school determines the ethos and characteristic spirit of the school. The patron also appoints the Board of Management to manage the operation of the school. The development and implementation of the curriculum in religious instruction in both primary and post-primary schools is the responsibility of the patron. The Education Act recognises the rights of the different patrons to design programmes in religious instruction and to supervise their teaching and implementation. It is the responsibility of each school to provide a religious programme that is consistent with its ethos, while at the same time being flexible in making alternative arrangements for those who do not wish to attend religious instruction.

At primary level, there are a number of patrons’ programmes within the primary school system reflecting the diversity of patronage. Some of these are denominational or religious in nature, emphasising the place of children’s faith, spiritual and moral development in their lives. Other patrons’ programmes are ‘ethical’ in nature and emphasise fostering children’s understanding of ethics and values.

At post-primary level the clear separation of religious instruction from the NCCA Religious Education specifications set out in CL62/2018 has the effect of ensuring that the requirement in CL13/2018 to establish the wishes of parents in relation to opting out (or the wishes of a student having reached the age of 18) does not arise for students studying the NCCA Religious Education syllabus/specification where the school provides the subject as part of its normal range of subjects. Where the school is providing religious instruction having regard to the legal instruments created when the school was recognised, the school may provide the teaching resources from within the school’s overall teacher allocation and the delivery must be in full class periods devoted exclusively to religious instruction.

In all circumstances under the Constitution, the provisions of article 44 recognise the rights of children to attend school without attending religious instruction at that school. Furthermore, the provisions of Section 30(2) (e) of the Education Act 1998 provide that a school shall not require a student to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parent / guardian of the student or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student. It is expected that this right will be upheld by schools on foot of a parental request.

The provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 requires, 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 not attend 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.