Vocational Education Committees have said they are willing to take over the running of Catholic primary schools, where the church and parents so wish.
At its annual conference in Galway the VECs governing body has called for dialogue with the church on the proposal.
It is the first time in their history that the VECs have begun to get involved in primary level education.
From this year they are running two new schools in Dublin on a multi-denominational basis.
The Catholic Church has welcomed the proposal. It has already said it has too many schools and is prepared to let some go, if that is what parents want.
Last night the Catholic bishops described the suggestion as interesting and said they look forward to further discussions.
