Senator Ronan Mullen has warned that Government plans for schools could “kick the Church out of education”.

He told The Irish Catholic that the aim of the new Government to hold a Citizens’ Assembly on education is “not a triumph of public consultation” but a means to shape public opinion, similar to that of the abortion referendum.

“Critics of the Church see schools as one of its last remaining privileges, held on to by a constitutional thread, a thread they are determined to cut,” he said.

“But that constitutional thread, made up of clauses in Bunreacht na hÉireann that guarantee churches the right to run schools, is not an oppression of the majority by the few. It is one of the last hopes of people who believe in genuine pluralism and diversity in our society.”

Senator Mullen’s comments are joined by academics who say the Programme of Government could see Catholic schools forced “to adopt a secular approach”.

Dr Tom Finegan of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick has called for “coordinated courage among parents” who want their children educated in Catholic schools.