Eight areas have been selected.
Eight towns and cities have been selected as part of a pilot programme to increase multi-denominational education in this country.
The Department of Education will be engaging with these school communities about possibly moving their local school’s patronage away from the Catholic Church.
The areas selected are Arklow, Athlone, Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick and Youghal.
The vast majority of schools in this country are State-aided parish schools, with the local bishop as patron.
Demand is growing for multi denominational education, and Minister Norma Foley has said change is needed.
The ETB runs 27 Community National Schools that don’t come under the Catholic ethos.
The ETB's Director of Schools Seamus Conboy says spending classtime preparing for religious sacraments can be distracting:
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