ESTABLISHING A national forum on patronage in primary schools has been ruled out by Minister for Education Mary Coughlan.

She was replying to Labour spokesman Ruairí Quinn who asked if she would establish, without prejudice, a forum as suggested by Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin. Mr Quinn said that the Catholic Church was the patron of 92 per cent of all existing 3,175 ordinary primary schools in the State.

When Ms Coughlan, in her first question time as Minister for Education, read a lengthy formal reply, Mr Quinn remarked: “it did not take them long to house train you.” He said the reply was the most disappointing he had heard from someone with the Minister’s experience and maturity.

“And I say that in all honesty . . . and also as a mother of relatively young children, I would have thought you had a more open view,” he added.

Ms Coughlan said the proposed forum would be yet another forum, with two or three years of pontification and philosophy and they would revert to a place where there were no decisions.

Her officials, she said, were carrying out an assessment of 10 locations where changes to patronage might be warranted, given the changed demographic profile. The assessment involved the initial identification of the locations and detailed work on them.

However, she added, it might be necessary to reidentify some further areas if some initial locations appeared unsuitable. The aim, she said, was to complete the assessment within the next month with a view to providing the list to the Catholic authorities for consideration and publishing it.

“The Catholic Church does not do democracy . . . it does not consult its community, it informs its community,” Mr Quinn said.

He added that there was no procedure to which the Minister could refer where Catholic members of a parish could vote or express their opinion in a structured way.

Ms Coughlan said she would like to hear what members of the House had to say on the issue. It would be appropriate because she believed there would be a diversity of views in the Dáil.

Once the 10 areas had been designated she would meet church representatives, she added. She believed parents and the community should also be consulted.

Fine Gael spokesman Brian Hayes said the Minister’s response was a step backwards when compared to the views of her predecessor, Batt O’Keeffe.

He accused the Minister of not wanting to consult anyone.