Oireachtas committee calls for religion to be removed from sex education in Irish schools

Well, about time.

An Oireachtas committee is expected to say that a school's religious ethos should not be used as a barrier to the "effective, objective, and factual" teaching of sex education in schools. The committee will be recommending that legislation be amended to prevent the religious influence over sex education. According to RTE, The Education Committee's study about the way in which sexual education is taught in schools is due to be published today. It will apparently advise that changes should be made "as soon as possible, at the latest by the end of this year". The current sexual education curriculum in Irish schools was introduced in 1999, and has been found to be outdated. The new legislation is important "to give consideration to the significant welcome changes that have taken place in Ireland". These changes will focus on the LGBTQI+ community in Ireland, as well as those with intellectual disabilities. Currently, all schools in Ireland are required to teach sexual education, but the ethos of a school can influence how the subject is taught. And when one considers how many schools in Ireland are run by the Catholic Church, this change in legislation is certainly a good one. One major thing that committee wants discussed in the new curriculum is the issue of consent, which is currently only "touched on." This is certainly a step in the right direction for the young people of this country.