Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both delegates for their presentations. Mr. Curtis said that education cannot be deemed to be holistic in any sense if it ignores either our actions or the spiritual or moral basis of the values that inform such actions. Does JMB have a stance on what it believes to be the moral issues relating to the teaching of RSE? Are there particular things that JMB does not want taught under the RSE curriculum?

My next question is for both delegates. Should RSE be compulsory for students? Should parents have the right to remove their children from RSE classes in any circumstances?

What do the delegates see as the main challenges in teaching students from different ethnic and religious backgrounds? We all appreciate that we are living in a more diverse Ireland. How can we deal with that? Is there a lack of adequately trained teachers? Is there something else prohibiting the holistic approach in the roll-out of RSE throughout the country? Is it more than a matter of teachers getting adequate training? Are there other challenges?