Atheist Ireland writes to Public Accounts Committee and C&AG
This is a letter from Atheist Ireland to the Comptroller and Auditor General on 8 February 2022, and to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee on 15 February 2022, following the Supreme Court judgment in the Burke case. This is a follow-up to our complaint from December 2021. On page 16 ...
Minister for Education replies to Atheist Ireland about religion in schools and anti-abortion video
The Minister for Education Norma Foley has replied to a letter from Atheist Ireland about the right to not attend religious instruction in schools and a recent anti-abortion video shown in a school. Here is the Minister's reply and our reply to her. Letter from Minister for Education to Atheist ...
Atheist Ireland writes to Minister for Education regarding religious instruction
This is a letter from Atheist Ireland to the Minister for Education on 21 January 2022, in response to her letter to us on 17 January. We copied it to the Oireachtas Education and Public Accounts Committees, and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Dear Minister Foley, Thank you for your ...
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 group of concerned parents in ...
NCCA to consider new Court of Appeal judgment when reviewing Primary Curriculum
Last November Atheist Ireland made a submission to the NCCA's consultation on the Primary Curriculum. The consultation date is now over. But the NCCA has agreed to consider a new Appeal Court judgment as part of its review, after Atheist Ireland sent them the following letter: Atheist Ireland letter We ...
Draft letter for parents to send to TDs seeking Statutory Guidelines on religion in schools
Here is a draft letter to send to your TDs seeking Statutory Guidelines on religion in schools. You can copy and paste the text and add in any information that you want about your own circumstances. The letter explains why this is topical at the moment. If you get a ...
An unlawful, systematic and stark attack on the right to not attend religious instruction
In most schools in Ireland the State Religious Education course is taught through the lens of the Catholic Church. Students are told that the course is suitable for all religions and none. Many students are coerced and some are forced into taking the course. The arrangements for students who wish ...
The Rights of the Child in Irish schools
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child will soon be questioning Ireland again. Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland have sent this joint submission to the UN Committee. Contents Introduction Summary of Questions Cluster 3. General Principles Article 2 — ...
How secular is the Programme for Government?
This is Atheist Ireland’s initial response to the proposed Programme for Government agreed jointly by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party. While it is weak on explicit secular policies, some of its commitments would lead to secular specifics if they are implemented while respecting freedom of religion and ...
NCCA report avoids the question of how to deliver objective sex education
The NCCA has failed to recommend that the Education Act be amended to ensure that students get objective sex education that is not influenced by a religious school ethos. Its new report has simply described the problem of ethos, instead of addressing how to resolve it. And the Minister for ...