Some 40 areas of Ireland that are home to Catholic Church-run primary schools have been identified by the Department of Education as potential sites for a handover of management.

According to the Irish Independent, a letter has been sent to high-ranking officials in the church, such as the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, and chair of the Bishops' Commission for Education, Bishop Leo O'Reilly.

It outlined the reasons why the church should give up their control of the schools in the chosen areas, based on the stability of the local population and number of Catholic schools in the regions.

The newspaper reports that the Catholic Church currently has control over 92 per cent of the 3,200 primary schools in Ireland, and Dr Martin has said that it can no longer run them all.

Fine Gael educational spokesperson Brian Hayes recently recommended in a piece for the Irish Times that the schools and land owned by the Catholic Church should be given to the state to manage.

Written by Donal Walsh
 

Comments