Parental choice must be central in the provision of primary schools, according to Father Michael Drumm, the  chairperson of the Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP). And he went on to point out that there is little parental demand for a secular education agenda.

Speaking to rhe Irish Catholic, Fr Drumm said that the Church “will only be involved if there is parental support”.

However, he added “the places I go people say to me ‘We don’t want change in patronage’.”

He said that, while media reports highlighted the need for change he wasn’t “seeing it on the ground”.

“Irish schools are particularly well run; there is obviously an agenda by strong secular forces for change which is understandable, but on the ground there is not a desire for this,” Fr Drumm said. “Catholic schools are among the most inclusive and provide social integration, including Travellers and other groups, and are to be found in the most socially disadvantaged areas.”

He also said there was a danger that committed Catholics might believe that the Church was pulling out of education. This was not the case, he said.

“Schools are central to in Irish Church life and the debate is correctly driven by the perception that some parents send their kids to Catholic schools because that is the best school or the only school,” Fr Drumm said. “Parental choice needs to be provided for in every sense.”

Responding to media suggestions of conflict between the Church and the Department of Education over schools, Fr Drumm said that the issue of education and schools was the most important issue for parents.

The issue, he added “is far too important to be a political football or any game played with it”.

He said: “It has to be treated carefully and planning done on parental choice.”

He also said that, while the Church was prepared to transfer the patronage of some of its primary schools, the Department of Education needed to be more open to allowing the Church to set up secondary schools in areas where there is a demand for Catholic education.

Fr Drumm said: “The Department has asked for the transfer of patronage in demographically stable areas where often there is little alternative. We keep saying that where there is little alternative, in areas of huge expansion, there needs to be Catholic schools for parents in those areas.

“For example at second level there is a lack of new Catholic schools over the last 20 years…from now on there is a desire by Catholic patron bodies to establish new schools.”

Fr Drumm also said that the Church would be reflecting on the role of Catholic schools in terms of catechesis and evangelisation. “We will reflect as a community and have a serious discussion over the course of the year,” he said.