NEW Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, has confirmed the patronage for two new Northside primary schools opening this September.
As anticipated, patronage of the new schools in Cabra on Bannow Road and Drumcondra at All Hallows College has been awarded to Educate Together.
Local parent groups, who had been campaigning for patronage, were last week celebrating the news, while Educate Together CEO Paul Rowe congratulated them on their success.
“Well done to the Educate Together start-up groups who have been working hard to ensure their children can access their preferred model of education,” he said.
“We look forward to working with the local community and the Department to make sure these schools open as efficiently as possible.”
Caroline Gardiner of the Drumcondra Marino campaign group said the announcement from Minister Bruton came after many years of hard work from parents looking for access to equality-based schools in their communities.
“After four years of being part of the local group campaigning for an Educate Together school, we are so delighted,” she added.
“This is a huge gain for our local community and one that will benefit the local kids for years to come. We are over the moon, we were worrying about what school to send our child in September and now we have the ideal option. This is such an achievement for the local start up group and for the area.”
Applications for patronage are assessed on detailed criteria, including the extent of diversity in existing schools and the scale of diversity to be provided by the new school.
This was considered in conjunction with the level of parental demand for each of the patron applicants.
Minister Bruton said the Government was trying to use economic success to make people’s lives “a little bit easier”.
“An important part of this is to make it easier for parents where possible to choose schools for their children that reflect their needs and priorities,” he added.
“It is very welcome that these schools will reflect the stated choice of parents in the area, and will increase diversity of primary education provision.”
Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock, welcomed last week’s news.
“Educate Together schools are extremely popular and this decision is reflective of the desires of many local parents and the changing demographics in the area,” he said.
Details of enrolment and admission procedures for the new schools will be published shortly.