A new admissions system in Catholic schools - which will see a quota of places reserved for non-Catholic pupils - has been approved by the Dublin archdiocese.
The new system is being introduced on a pilot basis in two primary schools in west Dublin following discussions between the schools and the archdiocese.
The schools' patron, Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin, said yesterday: "While maintaining the clear Catholic ethos and identity of the schools," he was also "anxious to ensure that these particular schools would continue to be good examples of integration in a developing area, whose growing population outstripped available services, particularly in education".
The new policy at St Patrick's and St Mochta's is designed to ensure that the schools reflect the multicultural nature of the area.
Under the pilot project, a third of all junior infant places will be reserved for non-Catholics. This represents a significant departure from the traditional policy where all schools under the aegis of the archdiocese had to give priority to Catholic pupils.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said she welcomed all efforts by school communities to be inclusive of all children as Ireland became a more diverse society.
The new quota system has been welcomed by some education groups and by Fine Gael.
Significantly the Irish National Teachers organisation was more guarded, saying it would look at the proposals carefully.
Chief executive of the Equality Authority Niall Crowley said it was a welcome step towards greater integration. It created the space, he said, where wider issues relating to school planning and school patronage could be addressed.
In its response, the INTO said it would monitor the implementation of the new enrolment policies and the effect on other primary schools in the area. However, it acknowledged that the new system had "the potential to ensure that the multi-cultural challenge is more evenly distributed among schools".
The introduction of the new system follows controversy last September when Catholic schools gave priority to Catholic pupils as immigrant pupils struggled to find school places. This led to widespread concern that the admission policies of some Catholic schools were leading to segregated schooling.
