Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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864. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding any plans to provide non-denominational schools as opposed to multidenominational schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19271/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government commits to seeking to increase choice for parents by ensuring that families can access both multi/non-denominational and faith based education.

For historical reasons, most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local Bishop as patron. It is recognised, including by the Catholic patrons, that more diverse provision is required to cater for our changing society.

The Schools Recon?guration for diversity process, supporting transfers of schools to multi-denominational patrons in response to the wishes of local communities, has been developed in order to accelerate the delivery of multi-denominational schools. When a school transfers from the patronage of one patron to another, the school remains open with the same roll number and operating from the same school property. All state-funded primary schools follow a common national curriculum and are subject to the same Department rules and regulations.

There are legal protections under the Article 44 of the Constitution and the Education Act 1998 that recognise the rights of children to attend school without attending religious instruction at that school. The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 requires schools to include in their enrolment policies details of the school’s arrangements in respect of students where requests have been made to attend school without attending religious instruction.

There are no primary schools classified as non-denominational. There are 172 primary schools with a multi-denominational or inter-denominational ethos. Children in multi-denominational primary schools learn about all faiths and belief systems as part of the school day.

Given the importance of increasing choice for parents, I intend to publish a plan shortly to increase the number of multi-denominational schools.