Quinn’s hopes for 50% of schools to change hands optimistic

RUAIRÍ QUINN’S plan to transfer some 50% of Catholic primary schools to a different model of patronage will prove as fraught with pitfalls as it may be historic. The minister will have his work cut out if he wants to even partially realise his vision during the lifetime of this Dáil.

Everyone agrees there are too many Catholic schools to meet current demands. Dublin‘s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was one of the first people to raise the issue calling for a forum on future patronage. His call was largely ignored by the last government. Mr Quinn this week launched such a forum, which he has asked to report as a matter of urgency.

The current national-school model was introduced under British rule in 1831 and was intended to be multi-denominational. The plan was initially fiercely resisted by the Catholic hierarchy, which sought the right of Catholic parents to choose a Catholic education. Archbishop John MacHale of Tuam — known as the Lion of the West — feared the system was designed to weaken the faith of Irish children and usher in Protestant proselytism through the back door. However, the fact that the population was overwhelmingly Catholic ensured that most schools were de facto Catholic.