THE Catholic Church is willing to hand over some primary schools to the state -- but at a price.The Hierarchy said yesterday there would have to be some form of compensation in return for giving up control and patronage of some of the Church's 3,000 primary schools.
Bishop Leo O'Reilly who chairs its Education Commission told the Irish Independent they would expect a "quid pro quo" in any new arrangement.
This could include the state paying the cost of training for members of boards of management as well as other supports to ensure the Catholic ethos of the remaining schools.
Parents should also have the right of transport for their children to a Catholic school within a reasonable distance if there was no Catholic school in their parish, according to a new policy document launched yesterday.
Their rights to religious instruction for their children would have to be safeguarded in cases where Catholic schools entered into new patronage arrangements, it added.
Bishop O'Reilly stressed that the Church would continue to provide Catholic schools where parents wanted them for their children.
The Church had no desire to be the sole provider of education for whole communities but handing over existing schools would be a gradual process and taken on a case-by-case basis.
He announced that the Bishops' Council for Research and Development was carrying out quantitative research among parents who send their children to Catholic schools in Ireland.
Preliminary report research will be available to the Bishops' Conference in December and a full report will be complete for the March conference.
"This will give us valuable information not only in relation to the wishes of parents for the education of their children but also the role they see for the Catholic school. As a result of this research we hope to be in a better position to plan for the time ahead," he added.
He suggested also that the issue of cultural and religious diversity in schools could be reviewed in the joint Church State bilateral discussions established by the Taoiseach last year.
Mr Dan O'Connor, secretary, Catholic Primary School Management Association, said the state should undertake research in expanding areas to find out what kind of schools parents wanted -- this could be done through the New Schools Advisory Body.
Stressing the inclusive nature of Catholic schools, he cited the example of St John the Evangelist in Adamstown where half the children were black and non-Catholic.
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