Catholic patrons are open to changing the religious ethos of the national schools they control but the choice will ultimately be for the patrons, the Minister for Education said. “I don’t want to speak for the bishops, but our patrons across the country recognise that there are different preferences among parents across the country. On denominational education, he expressed surprise at the suggestion patrons would retain a veto on change and said the pace of change needs to be accelerated. “We look forward to the release of school-level survey data, so that these results can be acted on. We know that there are many schools around the country where there is a clear preference for Educate Together among a majority of parents and staff.

Source: The Irish Times April 07, 2026 15:53 UTC