Education Act 1998 Archives | Teach Dont Preach

May 15, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

ETBs and Bishops misrepresent the meaning of the word ‘spiritual’ in the Education Act

The ETBs and the Catholic Bishops claim that they are legally obliged to promote the spiritual education of all students through religious education. They use this as a lobbying tactic with the Department of Education, in order to continue to evangelise, and to ensure that students that opt out of ...

March 18, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The Right to Opt out of Religion

The right to opt out of religion under the Irish Constitution is not confined to opting out of faith formation or any belief specific teaching. The Constitution does not use the words faith formation in relation to the rights of parents to opt out their children (Article 44.2.4). The Education ...

March 9, 2019 1 Comment Teach Dont Preach

How State Schools Break The Rules – New Report from Atheist Ireland

Atheist Ireland has published a major new report titled How State Schools Break The Rules. It explains how the Department of Education, the ETBs, and the NCCA are breaching Constitutional and Human Rights and the IHREC Act in Religious Education in ETB schools. We will be using this report as the ...

March 3, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The Constitutional right to opt out of the State religion course

ETB schools are wrongly telling students that they cannot opt out of the State religious education course at second level, and are wrongly trying to justify that by referring to a misleading clarification of a directive from the Department of Education. In February last year the Department told ETB schools ...

July 19, 2018 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The three types of religious education in Irish schools

There is a lot of confusion among parents and students in relation to the different types of religious education and religious instruction classes in Irish school at primary and second level. Here is a quick guide which we hope will give a better understanding of the basic principles in relation ...

September 1, 2017 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Does Tipperary Education and Training Board have a Christian ethos?

In a recent case, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found in favour of Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB), in a case taken by a computer science and maths teacher. The teacher had claimed that he was discriminated against on the ground of religion in the Central Technical Institute in ...

May 14, 2017 4 Comments ADMlN

Support the Equal Participation in Schools Bill 2016

The Equal Participation in Schools Bill 2016 will be debated in the Dail next Tuesday night between 8pm and 10pm. If passed this Bill would ensure that all children and their parents have access to an education system with equal respect and dignity and where their human rights are guaranteed. ...

May 1, 2017 No Comments ADMlN

Catholic schools ignore law and policy

Publicly funded schools with a Catholic ethos ignore legislation and policy and successive Ministers for Education have done nothing about it. The Irish State refuses to challenge the Catholic Church even when it means they are clearly ignoring this policy and legislation. In Ireland one of the key issues in ...

February 15, 2017 No Comments ADMlN

NCCA report confirms that ERB and Ethics course will not meet human rights standards

The National Council of Curriculum and Assessment has published its long-awaited report regarding the proposed course on Education about Religions, Beliefs and Ethics. The Report vindicates the analysis of Atheist Ireland that any new course on ERB and ethics cannot be implemented in accordance with the Constitution and Human Rights ...

November 29, 2016 No Comments ADMlN

ERB and Ethics: do we now need to opt our children out of this new subject?

The introduction of a new course in Primary Schools about Religions, Beliefs and Ethics has the potential to undermine further the Constitutional and Human Rights of minorities. The legal framework is not in place that would ensure that the course is delivered in accordance with human rights so that the ...