The Catholic Church’s “near monopoly control” on primary schools cannot be allowed to continue, Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has said. However, a Department of Education pilot scheme run last year asked parents in 63 schools did they want to divest from Catholic patronage, and in only two cases did the parents agree.
The Cork South-West TD said despite the Census figures, nearly 90 per cent of the State’s primary schools remain Roman Catholic and asked would the Government conduct a review of the divestment programme “as a matter of urgency”.
“People shouldn’t be forced to go to school with an ethos which they don’t believe in because of a shortage of multi-denominational schools,” she said. “But this is happening because of a failure of the school divestment programme”.
