General

18 February 2022

Protect nonreligious beliefs, say Atheist Ireland and IHREC

The Department of Justice is reviewing the Equal Status Act and the Employment Equality Acts. Atheist Ireland made a Submission which you can find here. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission also made a submission, which you can find here. In the Venice Commission...

17 February 2022

The misuse of public funds in administering the right to not attend religious instruction

Atheist Ireland recently made a complaint to the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General about the misuse of public funds regarding the teaching of religion in Irish schools. We have now written a follow-up letter regarding the implications of the the recent Burke case at the...

16 February 2022

Amend Equal Status Act, say Atheist Ireland and IHREC

The Department of Justice is reviewing the Equal Status Act and the Employment Equality Acts. Atheist Ireland made a Submission which you can find here. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission also made a submission, which you can find here. Under the Equal Status...

10 February 2022

Defence Forces report calls for updating Chaplaincy and ending Catholic masses at induction

Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland welcome that the Report of the Commission of the Defence Forces, published yesterday, has recommended that: A number of outdated practices should be discontinued, including but not limited to the convening...

6 February 2022

The making of ‘Debutante’ and the power of film

‘Debutante’, a short Irish film about religious control and coming-of-age, has had a wonderful reaction since it was completed last year. It won Best Irish Fiction Short at the Kerry International Film Festival, and has three nominations for the Richard Harris International Film Festival. In...

1 February 2022

Burke judgment strengthens argument for right to not attend religious instruction

The Supreme Court has ruled in the Burke case that the Department of Education exceeded its jurisdiction, by disregarding the constitutional rights of home-schooled students when it was implementing a new leaving certificate scheme during the Covid pandemic. The Department had argued in the case...

26 January 2022

New research report is devastating for Catholic school ethos

A report by Genesis published this week by Catholic education groups shows clearly that the Catholic Church’s control over State-funded schools in Ireland must end. The results are devastating for State funding of Catholic schools, contrary to the misleading spin its publishers are pushing. The...

23 January 2022

Catholic Schools Week is evangelising, not welcoming or inclusive

The Irish Times has published an article about this week’s Catholic Schools Week by Marie Griffin, chairperson of the Catholic Education Partnership. The article claims that Catholic Schools are places where everyone, of all faiths and none, is accepted and welcomed. If Catholic Schools wanted...

16 January 2022

Irish schools ignore legal limits on how religious ethos can influence students

In Ireland it is legally possible for schools to influence your child into a religious way of life, but only to some degree. In practice, the State and schools ignore this limit, and enforce their religious ethos in a way that is contrary to the...

10 January 2022

Atheist Ireland raises religious discrimination in Irish schools with UN and C&AG

Atheist Ireland has asked the United Nations to raise religious discrimination in Irish schools when it next questions Ireland on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. We have also made a complaint to the Irish Comptroller and Auditor General about the misuse of public funds regarding...