The decision to establish State-run primary schools - warmly welcomed by the Catholic Church - could represent a landmark moment in Irish education, argues Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent

It is remarkable how little comment there has been about last month's announcement by the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin, that a new model of primary school patronage is to be introduced, on a pilot basis, at a national school in Diswellstown, Co Dublin, due to open in September 2008.

What is even more remarkable is that this has been warmly welcomed by the Catholic bishops. On the day the Minister made her announcement, and with a timing which suggests some choreography, Bishop Leo O'Reilly, chairman of the Education Commission of the Irish Bishops' Conference, welcomed Hanafin's "intention to pilot a new additional model of primary school patronage.".

He added, "The Constitution of Ireland provides for the education of children from all faiths and of none. To this end the development of models of educational patronage is something desirable and welcome in contemporary Ireland. The Catholic Church has always supported the rights of parents to establish schools that reflect the values of the home."

The Catholic Church, as an existing patron body, would "continue to establish new schools in developing areas," he said.

Where now the reports of one last great battle remaining in Ireland's moral civil wars, with the Catholic bishops on one side and relentless secularising forces on the other, in a fight to the death over who would have control over the education of our children? Where indeed!

Such reports would now appear to have been greatly exaggerated. For the first time since the primary school network was set up under denominational patronage in 1831, the State has indicated it is investigating a new form of patronage by which it will control primary schools where "a traditional patron is not available".

The new national school at Diswellstown will be under the patronage of Co Dublin VEC and, "to reflect the diversity of pupil intake from different parts of the community", as the Minister put it in a statement on February 17th, it will be known as Diswellstown Community National School.

Significantly, the Minister also said she would be notifying all VECs that until the consultation process with relevant education partners prior to the opening of the new school at Diswellstown had been completed, and the pilot project there had been evaluated, she did not intend recognising VECs as the patrons of any other primary schools.

What we are looking at here is a historic development which in time will see the State assume a growing role in the patronage of primary schools as Ireland's communities become more pluralist. Apart from nine model schools, set up under ministerial patronage in the 19th century, no primary schools in the Republic have been under State control.

Since 1831 it has been mainly the church authorities who have acted as patrons of primary schools. Such schools have been privately owned if publicly funded institutions, their denominational character and ethos acknowledged and accepted by the State.

More recently, we have had other bodies recognised as patrons of new primary schools, such as Educate Together for multidenominational schools, and An Foras Pátrúnacht for Gaelscoileanna. New schools have also been set up under the patronage of the Muslim community.

Of the 3,279 primary schools in Ireland, 3,039 are under Catholic patronage; 183 are under the Church of Ireland; 14 under Presbyterian patronage; one Methodist; 34 multidenominational; five interdenominational; two Muslim; one Jewish; and one under Jehovah's Witnesses patronage.

Gaelscoileanna, some special schools and five model schools, controlled by the Minister, are listed there as under Catholic patronage, while the Church of Ireland figure includes four model schools under ministerial control. The multidenominational sector includes three Gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools, while the interdenominational sector includes four gaelscoileanna and one Gaelscoil operated under joint Catholic- Church of Ireland patronage. In addition, there are approximately 20 special schools with patrons such as Enable Ireland and the HSE.

The Minister said of the new school at Diswellstown, "Irecognition of the changing face of modern Ireland", it was her intention to ensure it would cater for the diversity of religious faiths represented in the area served by the school.

"Provision will be made within the school setting for the religious, moral and ethical education of children in conformity with the wishes of their parents," she said.

This was particularly welcomed by Bishop O'Reilly, who noted that such provision was underpinned by the rules for national schools (rule 68 and rule 69, Rules for National Schools under the Department of Education). "We presume that the Minister's assurance implies that the inspection of the teaching of religion, in the schools under the additional patronage, will be the responsibility of the appropriate religious authority," he said.

He also pointed out, "in terms of religious instruction, procedures need to be put in place to ensure that those entrusted with the teaching of religious education of the particular denomination are duly qualified and acceptable to the appropriate religious authority. This is currently the case in existing models of school patronage at post-primary level in community schools, community colleges and comprehensive schools. These provide for the religious education of pupils in accordance with their parents' wishes. This has served the Catholic community well."

And he reiterated the bishops' "commitment to the ongoing provision of Catholic schools for the Catholic children of the parish irrespective of social or ethnic background. We wish to emphasise that while our obligation is to be at the service of Catholic parents who wish to have their children educated in the Catholic school, our schools are among the most welcoming and inclusive schools."

All rosy in the garden, then. A revolution has begun in the patronage of primary education and few seem to have noticed. And, it seems, relevant parties wanted it that way. Why else would they release statements about such an important development without fanfare, and on a Saturday?