The three-day forum on school patronage that began yesterday at the Department of Education continues today.
Yesterday, a leading Catholic Church representative warned boards of management could feel set upon if a change of patronage is imposed without full consultation.
Addressing the National Forum on School Patronage and Pluralism in primary schools, Fr Michael Drumm of the Catholic Schools Partnership said there was a great danger local communities would not “buy into” the process if it was forced upon them.
During the hearing, Catholic Church representatives stressed their willingness to work towards a “reimagining” of school patronage . At present , the church controls close to 3,000 of the 3,200 primary schools in the State. They also pointed to the danger of a two-tier primary education system if there was parental choice with no limitation.
Chairman of the forum Prof John Coolahan questioned the bishops closely, asking them repeatedly if they were willing to take a proactive role in the transfer of patronage to other providers.
The process was dependent, he said, on goodwill from the church on issues like finance and the transfer of school properties from the church to other bodies.
Otherwise, he said, the whole issue would become stymied.
Earlier, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn – who attended the opening session of the forum – said he was delighted with the constructive approach taken by the Catholic Church in their submissions to the forum. There would, he predicted, be no losers in the process.