Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate my colleague from the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response, Deputy Foley, who is now Minister for Education and Skills. I wish her the very best with the work of her Department. I also congratulate the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Madigan and Niall Collins. There is a lot of work to be done and I wish them the best.

We have talked a lot today about Covid and the return to schools. I will raise a longer-term issue which I believe must be raised now to ensure it is planned for when it arises 12 months from now. I refer to the issue of relationships and sexuality education. One measure that is very important to me is an ongoing education programme that aims to protect young people as they go into adulthood by educating them on domestic abuse, gender and sexual violence, and coercive control. Tremendous work has been done by the Department, the various stakeholders and the Oireachtas committee led by the now Senator Fiona O'Loughlin of Fianna Fáil, on a relationships and sexuality education programme that teaches about boundary management, consent, mental health supports, emotional well-being and respect for the self from the earliest stage and throughout the school programme.

In order for this to be on the curriculum 14 months from now in September 2021, an awful lot of work needs to be done with regard to training teachers, who have expressed interest in the programme and a desire for further and better training, and with regard to the regulation of any external providers. On the occasion of this Estimate, I want to ask the Minister whether the funding is available. Has the planning been done to account for the necessary training in advance of the stakeholder consultation, which is due to finish shortly, and the anticipated and hoped for roll-out of the programme in September 2021?

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