Primary schools of different denominations and ethos will be asked to share buildings and facilities in new European-style "campus schools" under a radical plan being developed by the Department of Education.
Instead of having to buy individual sites for schools, which is becoming extremely expensive, the Department is hoping to switch to a new model, known as campus schools, where two or three schools share a large campus together.
The move could prove controversial as some denominations may not want to share facilities or parts of their school with other denominations or multidenominational groups. The multidenominational sector has expressed its willingness to participate, but the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland have yet to be formally approached.
The Department is planning to put the plan before them shortly.
The rising cost of buying school sites, particularly in the commuter belt around Dublin, has prompted the Department's move. The Department of Finance is also understood to be strongly in favour of the plan.
Senior officials from the Department of Education's buildings section have visited campus schools in the Netherlands and Austria in recent months to observe how they operate.
A Department of Education spokesman told The Irish Times it was working on a plan for campus schools but stressed it was at an early stage. It would apply only to new schools in the primary sector, he added.
The spokesman said many practical issues would still have to be resolved before the plan could be implemented. A wide-ranging consultation process also needed to be undertaken, he added.
The plan would involve the schools sharing their play areas, gymnasiums, car-parks, special classrooms and other facilities. However, pupils would continue to be educated separately in classrooms.
At present, the Department finds that within one area it has to purchase sites for a denominational school, a multi-denominational school and a Gaelscoil. Under the plan, the three would come together on one site.
From January 1999 the Department took over responsibility for buying sites for new primary schools. The previous practice was for a denomination or other group to buy its own site and then look for recognition from the Department.
There are currently about 60 applications for new primary schools before the Department. Many of these are in expanding areas of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. Land in these areas has cost the Department about £2 million for a three-acre site.
The cost savings in the plan would arise because instead of buying three sites of that size, it could fit the three schools onto a five-acre site at a considerably reduced cost, a Department source explained.
There are about 3,120 primary schools in the State. About 200 of these are Gaelscoileanna, about 60 are multi-denominational and the remainder are denominational schools, mainly under Catholic management. While the multi-denominational sector, represented by the group, Educate Together, is small at present, it is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. The Gaelscoileanna movement is also becoming increasingly popular.
The campuses being considered would range between five and seven acres, according to Department sources, and most likely cater for 270 to 300 pupils.
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