Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin has told an education conference he is prepared to divest some schools of their Catholic patronage where the demand exists for alternative arrangements.
The archbishop told a Department of Education and Science conference on future primary school needs that he did not want to remain patron of schools where there was no demand for children to attend Catholic schools.
"I have no ambition to be patron of Catholic primary schools beyond the number required to respond to the desire of parents who wish their children to attend such schools," he said.
Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said he is prepared to divest some schools of their Catholic patronage
"I believe that ways can be found to expand the role of other patronage models, where such demand exists, through a form of structured divestment by the Catholic patron, which recognises the rights and interests of all parties."
However, he said he did not want to see the Catholic school become "a ghetto or an illusory safe haven", and warned the schools would only be able to carry out their roles if there were viable alternatives for parents who wanted their children to attend schools with alternative philosophies.
"The demand is there. The delay in provision of such alternative models has made true choice difficult for such parents and indeed for many teachers," he said. "It also makes it more difficult for Catholic schools to maintain their specific identity and bring their specific contribution to a pluralist society."
Under a new pilot scheme, the Vocational Education Committees (VEC) will take on the role of patron for some primary schools.
Speaking at the same conference, Bishop Leo O'Reilly said there were "definite challenges" presented by the new pilot model of primary school patronage, but that they could be overcome.
"Such challenges are not insurmountable and must be faced in response to the education needs of contemporary Irish society," he said.
"The temptation to ignore differences and to fit everybody into a single model must be resisted. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot respond adequately to the current needs of our Irish school going population."
