Education in the Republic of Ireland is mostly denominational at primary and secondary level. That is to say, most schools are associated with a particular religion or Christian denomination. Denominational schools include most national schools at primary level, which types are publicly funded by the Department of Education. The school's patron or the chair of the board of management will often be a cleric or religious. The denomination influences the ethos, although in subjects other than religion a standard curriculum is prescribed by the Department of Education for all publicly funded schools. Denominational schools can give priority of admission to pupils of the given denomination with the exception of catholic schools but not refuse to admit pupils based on religion.
The continued prominence of denominational education is controversial among advocates of separation of church and state. Since the 1970s Educate Together and other groups have founded multi-denominational schools. In addition, the prevalence of Catholic schools is questioned in light of Ireland's changing demographic profile brought about by secularisation and immigration since the Celtic Tiger. The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has expressed a desire to divest the archdiocese of some of its schools to provide more choice for non-Catholic parents.