Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the witnesses for their presentations. As the father of two teenagers, and one child about to become a teenager, there is a huge amount of crucial information here. Every parent in the State needs to hear what has been said here today.

Like my colleagues, Deputies O' Sullivan and Naughton, I was a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, and I have a particular interest in the ancillary recommendations that have brought about this topic today.

I have one question for all of the witnesses, which I believe goes to the heart of the issue. Unfortunately, I was in Europe during the last meeting when Rita Sexton from the Department of Education and Skills said: "...the ethos of the school should never preclude learners from acquiring the knowledge about the issues, but ethos may influence how that content is treated." How do the recommendations that the witnesses make today sit with a statement like that? Is it possible to deliver the recommendations that the witnesses are looking for in the context of such a statement? Ms Sexton's statement reflects the current policy of the Department of Education and Skills.