If the Government is to introduce a new bank holiday, it should not be named after or associated with any religious or atheistic figure or belief. It should simply be an inclusive public holiday for everybody, regardless of their religious beliefs or nonreligious philosophical convictions....
This article covers: Part 1 — Funding of Political Campaigns of Religious Bodies Part 2 — EPF Report on International Funding of Religious Bodies Part 3 — EPF Report on Agenda Europe Discussion Document Part 4 — Protecting Democracy from Big Money Between Elections Part...
Atheist Ireland has written the following letter to the Oireachtas joint committee on Education, about not attending Religious Instruction in schools, and the recent anti-abortion video shown in a school. We would like the Committee to take the following into account when it reaches the...
Atheist Ireland this week became the first atheist group to meet with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland, as part of the traditional greeting meetings that take at the start of a new Lord Mayor’s term of office. Typically these meetings include the President,...
It is disgraceful that the Irish Government is arguing at the European Court of Human Rights that the religious oath for President and members of the Council of State are “necessary in a democratic society.” The Government is contesting a legal challenge to the religious...
Obviously there should have been a transparent procedure to select Ireland’s Special Envoy to the UN on Freedom of Expression. But a more important issue is what does the job consist of, and why was the position created? A Government spokesman said that the Special...
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has released its report about the RTE comedy sketch on New Year’s Eve, in which the police arrest the Christian god for sexual harassment against Mary, and the courts find him guilty but release him. The BAI Committee found that...
Our politicians are now wrestling with the issues around the National Maternity Hospital and the Sisters of Charity. Those issues are not just about access to reproductive healthcare, but also about the right to freedom of conscience. Those who seek a National Maternity Hospital free...
In a democratic republic, the State should own and directly run the national maternity hospital. It should not cede control over this essential public service to any private body, never mind to a charity associated with the Catholic church, which has an appalling record of...
The Minister for Education, Norma Foley and the Department of Education are trying to control the language around Relationship and Sexuality Education in order to hide the influence that a catholic ethos has on the teaching of the subject. The Minister and the Department use...