Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I express my wholehearted support for the Bill, with my party, Sinn Féin. It is an incredibly important and worthy issue for us to take time in the House to discuss, especially in the context of what has happened in recent months which have thrown up so many situations where the need for sexual education which is real, inclusive and meaningful has been painfully clear. As a mental health campaigner and Sinn Féin spokesperson on mental health, as well as a parent, I know that we lack in schools the curriculum and supports needed to help to equip young people with a full understanding of their development. Sexual health and awareness will affect them, their friends and community throughout their lives and no knowledge provided with care, consideration and responsibility will serve as anything less than a positive to them.

Sexual health is a physical, social and psychological issue. It is an issue which can be extremely troubling for young people struggling to get to grips with their changing bodies, desires and the pressures they may feel from friends, the media and elsewhere. By equipping them with the ability to enter into their sexual lives with confidence and understanding of themselves, as well as respect and care for those around them, we will be building a bright future from the deeply troubling wake-up call of the #MeToo and #IBelieveHer scandals. Of course, that is only the beginning. We also need to see consideration of law reform to adequately deal with sexual based offences.

The issue of school ethos may be a considerable obstacle to ensuring there is equal and inclusive access to good quality sex education, but it must be dealt with. The primary ethos of any school must be to best serve the student in his or her development as a full and healthy member of society. It is an undeniable fact that the society we have carved out is clearly one where sexuality and our lives as sexual beings are important. It is also an undeniable fact that we live in a society which believes overwhelmingly that LGBTQI members of communities are full and equal members who deserve respect, inclusion and recognition.

It is through our democratic will that we decide the country that we wish to forge together and the future we want to give our children. That democratic will clearly supports the inclusive provision of accurate, open and positive sexual education.

I wish to finish by pointing out that we ask a great deal of teachers. We increasingly ask them to educate our children on a greater and wider range of life topics. It is natural that we increasingly seek professional guidance as we move to more evidence-based education. As we ask more of teachers, they have the right to ask more of the State in terms of ensuring they are supported with good conditions and pay and, most essential, the provision of good educational support and an adequate numbers of teachers in every school.

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