General

25 January 2015

Atheist Ireland to register with Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)

Atheist Ireland will register this year with the Standards in Public Office Commission. The Standards in Public Office Commission is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. It has six members and is chaired by a former...

23 January 2015

Are “Catholic first” Admission Policies unconstitutional? Equality Authority report endorses Atheist Ireland arguments

Atheist Ireland’s ongoing campaign to ensure that publicly funded schools do not discriminate on religious grounds is picking up pace, with our arguments effectively endorsed by both the Equality Authority and the Irish Human Rights Commission, the two bodies that have recently merged to form...

4 January 2015

Why is everyone so surprised that the Catholic Church won’t divest schools or respect human rights?

It is increasingly clear that the Catholic Church will not divest any schools to other patron bodies unless they are forced to do so. In fact they have reinforced their position of opposing human rights standards in education, by rejecting the Toledo Guiding Principles. Even...

27 December 2014

Draft General Scheme of Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2013 does not remove religious discrimination in access to schools.

In September 2013 the government published a Draft General Scheme for an Education (Admission to Schools) Bill, as well as Draft Regulations. The proposed Education (Admission to Schools) Bill will not remove religious discrimination in access to schools or provide non discriminatory exemptions that would...

29 November 2014

Atheist Ireland X-Mass Party 2014

  A night of festive fun. We’ll start off in the Third Space on Smithfield Square and then head to Oscar’s Bar for a late drink. The party is free for members of Atheist Ireland and €10 for non-members, but you can join on the...

23 October 2014

Will we have to vote on blasphemy with religious oaths, Bibles and symbols in polling stations?

Last July in their Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Ireland, the UN Human Rights Committee under the International Covenant on Civil and & Political Rights stated the following: “The State party should take concrete steps to amend articles 12, 31 and 34...

3 October 2014

The Catholic Church rejects teaching about religions and beliefs in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.

In an article in the Irish Times today the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin is quoted as stating that a pluralist Ireland can only happen through “dialogue and respect”. He is also quoted as stating that “Elements in society are ‘allergic’ to mention of...

15 September 2014

Religious crests on schools uniforms are symbols of discrimination

Atheist Ireland welcomes the comments of the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin regarding religious crests on school uniforms. In an article in the Sunday Independent Archbishop Michael Jackson (Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough) said there should be “scope for negotiation” around the wearing of uniforms...

3 September 2014

Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre calls for “revolution of inclusivity” in Irish schools and “an upheaval in Irish educational perspectives”

Atheist Ireland welcomes the above comments by Dr Ali Selim and invites the two publicly funded National schools under the patronage of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland to lead the way by including the children of atheists and secularists in their schools. The Islamic Foundation...

28 August 2014

Another school year and another 9 million of state funding to pay for Chaplains in schools.

Ireland funds School Chaplains and it costs the taxpayer 9 million a year. This funding is meant to help parents with the religious education of their children in the general school environment of some publicly funded second level schools. The 9 million is allocated to...