In the Dail yesterday Donnchadh O’Laoghaire from Sinn Fein asked the Minister for Education about sex education in schools. The Catholic Bishops have introduced a course called Flourish to primary schools. Flourish is Catholic sex education, and the programme is to be taught alongside curriculum...
Sinn Féin supports changes in the law to ensure that inclusive sex education is delivered uniformly across all schools regardless of the religious ethos of the patron. The party has told Atheist Ireland that: “Sinn Féin share your view that, legislative reform of Relationships and...
Solidarity and People Before Profit TDs say the Oireachtas should pass their Objective Sex Education Bill, to ensure that school ethos cannot influence the delivery of sex education by the Catholic Bishops in their role as patrons of most of our schools. Paul Murphy TD...
Independent TD Thomas Pringle has called for age appropriate, inclusive, and diverse relationship and sex education in Irish schools. He says: “Get your rosaries off our ovaries.” How long has this slogan been around Ireland? From hospitals to schools and everywhere in between we have...
The Labour Party has called for the Government to commit as a priority to convening a Citizens’ Assembly on the Future of Education to examine a range of issues, including the relationship between Church and State after the publication of the new Catholic Church RSE...
The Irish Constitution requires the President to take a religious oath in order to take office. In a recent interview with BBC Radio Ulster the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins said that, in a new Ireland, “one should just affirm” (that is, make a...
This week’s Secular Sunday. To avoid missing out, sign up here to receive Secular Sunday by email *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Editorial Civil marriages and Catholic sex education Last year civil marriages had overtaken Catholic marriages in Ireland for the first time ever. This news came as...
The new RSE programme for Catholic primary schools highlights the impact religion has on State education as a result of our current school patronage model, according to Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD of Fine Gael. Flourish, the relationships and sexuality education programme for junior infants to...
Atheist Ireland welcomes the Pastoral Reflection by the Bishop of Clonfert, Michael Duignan, about changes in the Catholic Church, which Patsy McGarry reports on in today’s Irish Times. Bishop Duignan says that in the past, the Church tried to “engage with and convert secular society”...
A group of parents in Cork are organising to challenge the Catholic Bishops sex education course ‘Flourish’ in their children’s Primary schools. The Catholic Bishops plan to teach their new course alongside syllabus Social, Personal and Health education in schools. The parents say: “We’re a...