Politics

14 May 2021

Solidarity and People Before Profit TDs say Objective Sex Education Bill must be passed

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...

14 May 2021

Thomas Pringle TD calls for inclusive sex education not the Catholic Flourish course

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...

13 May 2021

Labour wants Citizens’ Assembly to resolve school ethos and sex education, says Ivana Bacik

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...

4 May 2021

Parents in Cork want objective sex education, not the Catholic Flourish course

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...

13 April 2021

Religious discrimination in the Irish Defence Forces Part 2

Last month Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, made a joint submission to the Public Consultation Commission on the Defence Forces. You can read that here. We argued that Roman Catholicism is part of the culture of...

28 March 2021

Atheist Ireland, Evangelical Alliance, and Ahmadiyya Muslims ask UN to strengthen secularism in Ireland

Ireland will be questioned this year by the United Nations Human Rights Council under a process called the Universal Periodic Review. Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, have made this joint submission to UN on freedom of...

19 March 2021

Religious discrimination in the Irish Defence Forces Part 1

Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, have made the following joint submission to the Public Consultation Commission on the Defence Forces. 1. Introduction 2. Overview 3. Population Demographics 4. Catholic Culture in the Defence Forces 5. What...

9 March 2021

The Human Right to be Atheist and Secular

There is an established internationally recognised human right to be atheist, agnostic, secular, humanist, or in any other way free from religion. This human right is part of the fundamental right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. It applies equally to all persons,...

8 February 2021

Protecting democracy from the undue influence of money between elections

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Local Government is discussing the Electoral Reform Bill 2020. Atheist Ireland has written to the Committee, asking them to protect our democracy from the undue influence of money between elections. Dear Committee Member, We note that your Committee met on...

2 February 2021

Dying with Dignity Bill – Atheist Ireland submission to Justice Committee

The Oireachtas Justice Committee is scrutinising the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020. This is a submission from Atheist Ireland responding to questions raised by the Committee. Define the problem/the policy issue which the Bill is designed to address; to what extent is it an issue...