Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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896. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the specific supports her Department is providing to facilitate school patronage transfers in areas such as Dublin Bay north, where survey data indicates a clear parental preference for co-educational, non-denominational post-primary education but no such option currently exists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19448/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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.

Nationally, at post-primary level, 48.6% of students are enrolled in multi-denominational or inter-denominational schools, 47.6% are enrolled in schools with a Catholic ethos and 2.9% are enrolled in schools with a Church of Ireland ethos (the remaining 0.9% is accounted for by post-primary schools with an ethos other than Catholic, Church of Ireland, inter-denominational or multi-denominational).

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.

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.

While the voice of the parent and school community is important in the context of a decision to change to a multi-denominational ethos, it is important to note that change can only be achieved if there is agreement of the outgoing patron.

Under the Education Act 1998, the legal responsibility for changing patronage rests with the current school patron in the first instance.

Any school community which is seeking a transfer of patronage should contact their school patron directly.