Call for minority religion schools

THE Government could face a constitutional challenge from Muslims, Methodists and other minority religious practitioners in Ireland unless it makes greater efforts to help set up multi-denominational schools.

Educate Together, an organisation for multi-denominational schools, said the Census 2002 figures showed the number of Irish people who are neither Catholic nor Protestant has doubled to 3% of the population since 1991.

Another 3.5% of the population said they had no religion, while those calling themselves Catholic fell from 92% to 88%.