General

16 October 2015

Good Without Gods – Supporting Secular Charity

Secular charity is a question we are often asked about and Atheist Ireland ‘God Without Gods’ campaign was launched in 2012. It was started as an initiative to encourage, promote and facilitate charitable and other worthwhile activities by our members and friends. Currently our active...

19 July 2015

Special Needs Assistants must evangelise vulnerable children in Irish schools

Special Needs Assistants must evangelise vulnerable children in State-funded Irish schools. It is not an occupational requirement of a Special Needs Assistant to teach religion, but they still must be prepared to evangelise vulnerable children into a religious way of life. This is a breach...

17 July 2015

Irish school teachers must be Catholic missionaries

Thinking of getting into the teaching profession in Ireland? If so be prepared to be a missionary for the Catholic Church. The vast majority of publicly funded schools in Ireland are controlled by the Catholic Church, and if you want to get a job as...

9 July 2015

Atheist Ireland to lobby EU, as Irish State says EU sanctions discrimination against atheist teachers

Irish State claims EU sanctions discrimination against atheist teachers. After today’s Seanad debate, the Bill to protect teachers from religious discrimination in schools will still not protect atheist or religious minority teachers at all, including Protestant or Muslim teachers, who cannot access the teaching profession...

8 July 2015

Atheist Ireland Supports call to Repeal 8th Amendment Abortion Ban

Atheist Ireland supports calls for referendum to Repeal 8th Amendment (abortion ban) – section 40.3.3, to the Irish Constitution states: “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in...

8 July 2015

Dáil told Catholic Church “Sole Supplier” of Chaplains

The Minster for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has told the Dáil that in respect of hiring for publicly funded chaplain roles, Institutes of Technology in Ireland may be in a “sole supplier situation”. Dundalk Institute of Technology has decided that the only supplier...

22 June 2015

Another UN Committee tells Ireland to end all religious discrimination in education

A major UN Human Rights Committee today told Ireland to stop breaching the human rights of atheists and minority faith citizens in the education system, as well as in abortion law and the ability to vindicate human rights in practice. The UN report vindicates the...

25 May 2015

State tells UN that children are refused access to schools only in exceptional cases

The State has informed the United Nations that Irish legislation provides that, in exceptional cases, a school can refuse to admit a student who is not of the religion of the school, provided that it can prove that this refusal is essential to maintain the...

22 May 2015

The requirement in the Electoral Act to take a religious oath is a breach of human rights

The Electoral Act 1992 obliges persons to object publicly to taking a religious oath before they are offered an affirmation. The requirement to publicly object to taking a religious oath before you are offered an affirmation is a breach of human rights. Last July the...

18 May 2015

What about the freedom of conscience of Catholic parents who disagree with the Church?

Despite claims from the No side, teaching practices will not change in Irish schools if there is a Yes vote in the marriage referendum. There are many Catholic parents who support marriage equality, and their children, along with the children of secular parents and religious...