A FURTHER study is needed to establish what parents want before the Catholic Church can consider divesting itself of patronage of primary schools, a leading education figure within the church said last night.
Fr Michael Drumm was responding to a study published by the Department of Education yesterday which identified 43 areas in the Republic where a choice of schools may be provided.
The study, conducted at the request of the Catholic Church, gave 10 random samples from its findings where new patronage of schools might be provided.
These included the towns of Arklow, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Birr, Killarney and Tramore, as well as the Dublin 4, Dublin 6 8 postal districts, Whitehall on the city’s northside and Porrmarnock/Malahide.
A department statement said: “Catholic Church authorities may now wish to identify some areas to trial the modalities by which the number of Catholic schools could be reduced and thus releasing some schools for other patrons.
“The decision on the identity of the particular Catholic school or schools to be trialled will ultimately rest with the bishop, as patron, and the Catholic community in the parish or parishes concerned and must follow consultation with the parent body and staff of the schools.”
Fr Drumm, executive chairman of the council of the Catholic Schools Partnership, said a further State study would be necessary to supply the “qualitative information” required to fill out the “quantitative findings” in yesterday’s document before decisions on new patronage could be made.
He also said the Catholic Church would be willing to contribute to the funding of such a study. While the data provided in yesterday’s document was “very welcome”, he said it was “purely demographic and more is necessary where parental choice or judgment is concerned”.
Clarification was also required on what is meant in the context by terms “such as denominational schooling, non-denominational schooling, inter-denominational schooling and multi-denominational schooling”, he said.
Within the Catholic Church itself also there was “a need for serious dialogue on the role of education”, Fr Drumm added.
Welcoming the document Paul Rowe, chief executive of Educate Together, which is patron of 58 schools in the Republic, said “the department’s identified areas match those for which Educate Together has demand for both new and additional school places”.
Full text of the Department of Education report Information on Areas for Possible Divesting of Patronage of Primary Schools is available at irishtimes.com/indepth
