School lands controlled by the Catholic Church should be handed back to the State, Fine Gael spokesman on education Brian Hayes told his party’s national conference today.
"I recognise the extraordinary contribution of the Catholic Church to Irish education over many decades, but the truth of the matter is that if you were devising a new model of school patronage you wouldn't start out from the model we have now,'' he said.
Noting that the Catholic Church was the patron of 92 per cent of all primary schools, Mr Hayes said he believed it was unsustainable in the long run for patrons to effectively own school lands and property.
"In my view, the State should be responsible for educational buildings,'' said Mr Hayes.
"In fact, by having the schools at such arms length from the State, it puts unacceptable pressure on patrons to maintain schools.''
Mr Hayes said that he respected the right of Catholic parents to send their children to Catholic schools. In the same way, he added, he respected the right of parents to send their children to inter-denominational or non-denominational schools, if that was their choice.
