School patronage and parental choice

When Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn took office two years ago he advocated the early establishment of multi-denominational and non-denominational national schools in response to dramatic social changes and the exclusion of some immigrant children from Catholic-run schools. He talked about removing half of all 3,000 primary schools from Catholic Church control. And while a Government advisory group on patronage and pluralism later advised a more gradualist approach, it expected the transfer of school patronage to begin this year. It now appears the process may be delayed until September 2014.

Delay is the great enemy of reform. The longer the delay, the greater the likelihood that political energy will dissipate and minimal change will result. A survey of parents in thirty-eight districts by the Department of Education has found a demand for alternative patronage in twenty-three instances. The great majority of those parents favoured patronage by Educate Together, where children learn about different belief systems but religious instruction takes place outside school hours. Vocational Education Committee control was favoured in three instances where multi-faith instruction is provided. A spokesman for Catholic Schools Partnership, Fr Micheal Drumm questioned the need for "immediate" change and spoke of a "phased response" by the bishops involved.

Interest groups tend to defend their traditional powers. While some bishops are open to change, others are reluctant. Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has accepted the need for a reduction in Catholic Church control over education. And he has pointed to Census results and falling mass-attendance figures as reasons for a rethink of traditional church approaches. Others are more cautious. Society has, however, changed dramatically in recent years because of the number of immigrant families and the great variety in ethnicity and religious beliefs. One in six residents were born outside the State and their children have now to be provided for in traditional, multi-denominational or non-denominational schools.

Some bishops may feel that ceding control over primary schools may be the thin end of the wedge. In opposition, Mr Quinn criticised the amount of time spent on religious education while children performed badly in literacy and maths. The programme for government regards reform of education as "a priority". It promises “sufficiently diverse schools to cater for all religions and none” at primary level. After that, it will “move towards a more pluralist system of patronage at second level”.

In making those commitments, the Government was responding to social pressures and representations from teachers' unions. The decision to release survey findings at this time and the implicit commitment to establish twenty-three new schools was, however, politically significant. It did not defuse the anger of teachers over their allowances and conditions or protect Mr Quinn from heckling and protests, but it suggested that, if teachers are serious about changes to school patronage, he is the one most likely to deliver.