Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I acknowledge the work done by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, RCNI. I have dealt with many people who have used the services of rape crisis centres which has made a very positive impact on their lives.

I agree with a lot of what Dr. Neary and Dr. Ging have said about the need for more inclusion of children and young people themselves. Often we do not realise the extent to which young people are clued in. I also agree that parents should be included more. They are included in almost every other aspects of their child's education. They receive emails, texts and so on about what is going on generally, but when it comes to RSE, it is often a question of a brief mention or a booklet being given at a parent-teacher meeting.

The key questions for me are around what is being delivered in schools, how it is being delivered and who is overseeing the delivery of RSE. It is the lack of oversight that has led to the delivery of RSE being so ad hoc. Some schools and teachers are very good while others are very uncomfortable and not so good. While I take on board the points made about avoiding outsourcing, which I would not generally favour, perhaps there is a role for a combined approach involving, for example, teachers and the Irish Family Planning Association. Perhaps we need to think about providing some external support for teachers so that it is not just them in the classroom, because clearly for some, it is an uncomfortable topic. What needs to be done so that RSE delivery is not so uncomfortable for teachers? What can we do to ensure that they do not shy away from it? The teachers who are good at it are comfortable with it and we need to ensure that this is the case for all teachers.

I agree that RSE must be delivered by schools. While RSE also requires the involvement of parents and families, it must be provided at school and in every class. At the moment, it only seems to be provided to older classes, and for some children, unfortunately, that is too late. What would the witnesses do if they had the opportunity to engage directly with teachers? What changes would they make?