Dr. P?draig MacNeela:

That is why we are saying that the post-primary schools in the senior cycle have had several years of consistent development. The Senator is right to say that there is a lack of regulation of what the programming ought to look like. Now we have learning outcomes for junior cycle. I suppose we are just about to have them for senior cycle. That will provide us with a clear architecture and infrastructure. Any programmes clearly have to address those learning outcomes. How one does it and the whole principle of equity, diversity and inclusion of male students is critical in that. That is another area that requires regulation. We would advocate for competency standards for teachers and educators right across the board so that we can be assured that they are able to deal with and manage these difficult issues like disclosure, all the way through the spectrum, to the positive, joyful conversations that we can have about relating well to each other, but we are not there yet. We would look for our programme to collaborate more closely with Professor Crowley's.

We are working with Consent Ed, which is supported by Tusla and the rape crisis centres nationally. We all have to move together, and not be conscious of our own position in this, to establish a national framework. We recognise that there is confusion and that teachers are unsure about which programme is which, what is being done, and so on. We are beyond the point of having people come into schools to deliver that programming for them. It needs to be owned by the institution. It needs to be owned by everybody from the board of management, principal, deputy principal and downwards.