Announcement in Kerry is first Reconfiguration under Plan by Minister Bruton to Deliver 400 Multi-Denominational and Non-Denominational Schools.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, has welcomed the decision of the Bishop of Kerry, patron of the Two Mile / Cahooreigh NS, to transfer the school to Kerry Education and Training Board (Kerry ETB) to re-open under the ETB’s patronage as a community national school from September 2017.

The Bishop of Kerry has indicated that the decision to lease the property to Kerry ETB for the purposes of providing a community national school was made in consultation with and fully in line with the wishes of the local community.  A local meeting was held on the 2nd March, 2017, organised by the Two Mile Community Group and attended by over 70 members of the local community. Following the meeting, an independent vote was held and the group formally requested the patron to allow the school to be made available as a community national school. The Bishop has formally written to the Minister providing for the re-opening of the school under the patronage of Kerry ETB.

The announcement is the first transfer since new school reconfiguration plans were announced by Minister Bruton in January, aimed at delivering 400 non-denominational and multi-denominational schools by 2030. 

The Minister for Education and Skills, announced on the 30th January, 2017, new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of families and school communities. The Programme for Government commits to increasing the number of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools with a view to reaching 400 by 2030.

The Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity Process is currently being progressed with relevant stakeholders to identify areas where patronage transfers will be necessary to meet parental demand. In cases such as Two Mile School, individual “early movers” are being facilitated with immediate transfers to multi- or non-denominational patrons where the school community and the current patron opt voluntarily to do so.

In January, Minister Bruton said that it was important that we consider new ways to deliver greater choice in the education system. The new process will draw the lessons from the 2012 model, which has only delivered a total of ten transfers to multidenominational schools. Those lessons include: