Dublin, Ireland, Apr 2, 2019 / 15:01 pm
Parents and Catholic schools near Dublin have expressed their opposition to a Department of Education plan to divest a school in the area from its Catholic patronage.
The Catholic Church runs more than 90 percent of schools in the Republic of Ireland, and receives government funds to do so.
The Department of Education has requested that one of the eight Catholic schools in the Malahide-Portmarnock-Kinsealy area, about 10 miles northeast of Dublin, be removed from Catholic patronage.
The request is part of an effort to reduce the role of the Catholic Church in education in Ireland. The Department of Education wants to reach 400 multi- or non-denominational schools by 2030, through a combination of divestment from Catholic patronage and new openings.