Archbishop admits over-presence of Catholic patronage in schools

The Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said today that he feels there is an over-presence of Catholic patronage in schools and this needs to change.

Dr Martin says he is already working with the new Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn in establishing a forum to identify how schools can be transferred out of Catholic patronage.

"It is actually a complicate process because, in the name of pluralism, you can provide a plurality of models of patronage of schools," he said.

"But its also possible for parents to choose a school which is not pluralist,

"You might find parents who will say: ‘Well, we can choose, but we choose this school because there are no disadvantaged people or no marginalized people in this school’."