Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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A lot of my contribution will be statements drawn from life experience. Following on from Senator Mullen's comments, what can the Department of Education do to stop the scaring in society that is going on? On my local radio station two weeks ago, there was a conversation about a young boy coming home with nail varnish. Billie and Lacey can put nail varnish on Liam's nails and we think nothing of it and it is okay, but there is a big conversation out there and scaring of parents. I have people close to me and aligned to my politics who say children are being educated about porn and other elements of sex education. There is no harm in educating our children about sex education and what is right and wrong. I welcome that, but there is a lot of scaring of parents and people are feeding into that. It is a bit like how thousands of people ended up in O'Connell Street on Hallowe'en because a person on the Internet said there was a parade there.

I do not give a damn who a person is, what colour a person's skin is or what a child believes in or does not believe in. It is none of my business once we do not hurt a young person based on their identity. Years ago, when a person was gay, we said they were sick: "That poor chap, he is sick" or "That poor woman, she is sick". We put it down to a psychological illness. Today, we have moved on so far that we recognise marriage equality.

We need a campaign to stop scaring people with misinformation about sex education in schools, crèches, etc. Like many other mothers on this island, I want my kids to know what is appropriate and inappropriate touch and to know about consent for young adults in school. I welcome the work the committee has done, although some members show up only the very odd time, and that is their call. Members like me who give a damn about equality in our education system welcome a child who wants to be referred to as "them" or "they" having that right and that teachers respect the children's right. As Senator Mullen said, it is not about religion anymore. That is really important.