Just eight schools divested of church patronage
That was 2011, and almost five years on very little has changed — just eight schools have been taken out of the hands of the church.
As Mr Quinn summed it up, if the Catholic Church was a commercial company the Competition Authority would order it to divest itself of at least half of its urban schools.
Although there was a groundswell of support — including from the Church itself — to initial plans on divestment, progress has been painfully slow, to the growing annoyance of a significant cohort of parents who have no religious beliefs, or if they have, do not want to have their children educated in a religious ethos school.
But with more than 90% of the 3,200 primary schools across the country still under the control of the church the vast majority of parents are not given a choice when it comes to the education of their children.
With tensions mounting —a petition calling for more choice with 20,000 signatures was recently handed into Leinster House — patronage is likely to become an even more contentious issue during the lifetime of the next government.
And it is not just about parents having a choice around education, often in areas where school places are in high demand children are denied a place in the school nearest them as patrons have the right to prioritise students on religious, ethos or other grounds.
In over-subscribed areas there are stories of parents having their children baptised purely to get a place in the local school.
In April 2011, Mr Quinn set up the Forum for Patronage and Pluralism in our Primary Schools with a view to overhauling the system to allow alternative patrons such as Educate Together and gaelscoileanna to enter.
The report recommended that around 50 schools in 47 catchment areas be divested — so far just eight schools have gone through this process.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin recently admitted that the church is “dragging its feet” when it comes to divestment of schools.
But what can be done to encourage a more diverse education system?
With an increase in the number of schools amalgamating the Department of Education now sees these freed-up buildings as part of the solution to create a more diverse education system.
However, with just 15 amalgamations this year, up from seven in 2014, amalgamations are by no means a silver bullet.
Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan is eager to make changes. She showed this when she announced the abolition of Rule 68, which states religion is the most important aspect of education in primary schools.
Consultations are now underway between the Department of Education and patron groups. It remains to be seen what comes of that.
