Labour Party rolls out initiative to remove religious influences in Irish schools

This follows the proposed abolishment of the 'Baptism barrier', which would remove the obligation of parents to baptise their children in order to secure school places.

The decades-old link between Church and State will be discussed by the Dáil over the summer as they've been asked to support a referendum furthering separating the two and thus removing religious influences in schools. The issue has gained currency in recent years, with no major political parties making reference to the case since the 2011 general election. A public petition to remove religious ethos is set to be published online by the Labour Party next week. Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the party's spokesperson on Education and Skills, Gaeilge and the Gaeltacht is fronting the initiative, stating that the Citizens’ Assembly should be brought back to life to debate the issue. "The issue is that over 90% of schools, primary schools anyway, are under religious constrictions in Ireland," Ó Ríordáin told JOE. "The complications that arise from that are due to a constitutional provision which allows parents to put their child through an institution with their preferred ethos." Ó Ríordáin went on to say that issues could arise, or already be arising, when it comes to religious-run schools and the influence that could have on the student body when it came to LGBT rights. "Up until a few years ago, a school could discriminate against a teacher who would go against their ethos – this includes anyone who was gay or unmarried or a number of other reasons. "This affects the rights of the teacher as well as the students. "What we want to do is to get together a Citizens' Assembly – which was instrumental in passing the Eighth Amendment – and discuss this to see whether this is fit for the modern era. "At the moment we don't have a state education system, we have a state-funded education system. It's not good enough any more. What we need to have is an education system which doesn't separate children based on their religion." The senator also went on to refer to what he believes are contradictions in the teaching methods that are currently practised. "How can you have an anti-homosexuality bullying ethos in schools when you have a Catholic ethos, which is essentially homophobic?" he said. "How can you provide sexual education in an arena which believes sex before marriage is sinful? "[I believe] we're ready for that conversation. We are launching with an online petition next week asking the government to listen. This could easily bring in a referendum at the end of the Oireachtas asking for all these things have to be assessed to see if they fit."

Back in May of this year, the Irish Government announced that they were planning to remove the 'Baptism barrier' for entry into Catholic primary schools.

Education Minister Richard Bruton said he planned to enact the School Admissions Bill as quickly as possible, which would see no pressure on children entering the school to become baptised. It's understood that this legislation gave rise to the consultation process surrounding the role of religion in schools. Earlier in the year, Ó Ríordáin criticised the "cosy" relationship between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which ensured the passing of the Admissions to School Bill. “While they duke out a phoney war through the media, Fianna Fáil has been cosying up to Fine Gael in the Seanad to make admissions to schools in Ireland completely elitist," he said. “Because of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael access to schools based on who your parents or your grandparents are is enshrined in legislation. This is wrong. “Fianna Fáil call themselves the ‘Republican Party’, yet they’ve allowed the old, elite fee-paying sector lobby get to them. The sector feels strongly about keeping a royal bloodline of succession going through its schools to maintain the old school network of fundraising. “It is not right that children who are trying to access a school on the same basis as everyone else should be disadvantaged because they are not a family member of a past pupil. “So don’t believe the spin, the cosy relationship between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is alive and well, we’ve seen it through this odious plan to reserve 25% of school places for past pupils.” It's believed that the Schools Admissions Bill will come into effect as of September 2019.