Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referenced employment laws. Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 states that certain institutions, including schools, should not be taken to discriminate against a person if their decision is made in order to maintain the religious ethos of the institution. I know that is still felt in staffrooms. I have taught with people who have felt like they had to obscure their sexual identity for reasons that fall under that provision.

We know that over 90% of our primary schools, in particular, are based on a Catholic ethos. What about Muslim teachers, teachers from another Christian denomination or atheist teachers when they go for interviews in such schools? Do they have an equal chance of being employed? I think of the children in those classrooms and the oft-heard phrase that if you cannot see it, you cannot be it. A Muslim child has never looked to the front of a class in my school and seen a Muslim teacher, an openly atheist teacher or a teacher from another denomination. That needs to be addressed.

See this speech in context