Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach if he has held recent meetings with church leaders and faith communities. [53041/17]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent and planned engagements with church leaders and faith communities here. [1838/18]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on meetings planned or past with church leaders. [3089/18]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he has had meetings recently with religious leaders. [3173/18]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach if he has met the church leaders recently. [3445/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together.

On 31 August last, I held a formal meeting under the structured dialogue process with representatives of the Catholic Church, led by Archbishop Eamon Martin. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and by the Ministers for Education and Skills; Health; Transport, Tourism and Sport; and Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

A wide-ranging discussion took place on a range of important national and international issues including the World Meeting of Families in August 2018 and the possibility of a visit to Ireland by the Pope, education issues, the eighth amendment of the Constitution, Northern Ireland, overseas development aid and social justice issues.

I also recently received a courtesy call from the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, as is traditional around the Christmas and new year period.

Yesterday, I met representatives of the main Protestant churches, the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations. I was accompanied by the Ministers for Justice and Equality; Business, Enterprise and Innovation; Education and Skills; Health; and Transport, Tourism and Sport; and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for international development.

This was the second in a series of meetings I will hold with dialogue partners. We discussed important social and economic issues facing Irish society including Brexit, education, the eighth amendment to the Constitution and international development.

Church and faith communities play an important role in Irish life, and it is very beneficial that Government should engage with them in a structured way. Some of the issues we discussed at these meetings were very challenging. They are issues on which people have deeply held views and which are matters of conscience. Our discussions were valuable not just because they dealt with important issues, but particularly because they were conducted in an atmosphere of respect for the views of others in which everyone sought to be constructive.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach said he met representatives of the Catholic Church to see how he can facilitate the planned visit by the Pope later this year. I deduce from the Taoiseach's remarks that he had some discussion about this. If so, will he give some sense of what is expected and anticipated and what kind of support he expects the Government will provide to facilitate this visit? Furthermore, does he have any insight into whether the Pope will visit the North? Pope John Paul II did not visit the North when he came here, but when the possibility of a papal visit was raised perhaps two years ago, both Martin McGuinness and Arlene Foster welcomed the notion of a visit to the North.

Finally, and very briefly, local people in Ballivor, County Meath, have protested against the proposed siting of a so-called drug treatment centre run by a group called Narconon, which is closely linked to the Church of Scientology. My colleague, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, who is a local representative, has pointed out that there is no provision in legislation for the regulation or inspection of residential treatment or rehabilitation centres specialising in addiction. Will the Taoiseach tell us whether he shares the concerns that have been raised about this? Is there a way to support local people and allay their concerns?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I, too, think there is value and merit in having a structured dialogue with faith group leaders in our country. In the Taoiseach's discussions on the eighth amendment, did he share with any of the faith groups his personal views on repeal of the eighth amendment? What kind of legislation did they suggest? Were all the groups he talked to united in a particular view on the eighth amendment? Was he just involved in a listening exercise without sharing his own views on these matters?

I refer to the issue of schools, particularly in the context of the Catholic Church. I listened with some care to the views expressed - very well, I think - by the Minister for Education and Skills recently on offering choice for a growing number of our citizens who want choice regarding secondary education in particular. Did the Taoiseach discuss this matter and did a shared consensus emerge on it?

Finally, what inputs will the State have into the visit later this year of the Pope? Obviously, there will be security considerations and costs but, regarding the way in which the visit is to be planned, does the Taoiseach have a schedule of State inputs into that he might wish to share with the Oireachtas?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Will the Taoiseach elaborate on the discussions he had with Archbishop Martin about the eighth amendment? Many people have said, rightly, that the debate on the likely referendum on the eighth amendment should be conducted in a reasonable and respectful manner. However, the fact is that in the past it has often been people associated with the church, often in senior positions in the church, who have tried to reduce the argument to phrases such as "abortion is murder", "it is about the destruction of innocent life" and so on. This is what has polarised previous debates.

I remember standing outside these Houses a long time ago and being physically attacked with hurleys by people attached to the Catholic view of abortion because we were protesting about the treatment of Miss X at the time of the tragic X case. It is important that the Taoiseach sends out a very clear signal that the Government expects those who are anti-abortion not to polarise the debate with such terms, which are really derogatory and do not respect the decisions of huge numbers of Irish women to seek abortions under very difficult circumstances, whether as a result of poverty, rape, mental or physical health threats or whatever other reasons, and expects the church to commit not to denigrate women in the debate that is likely to ensue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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These structured discussions with leaders of various faiths have been ongoing for approximately a decade and they are a recognition of the importance of churches and other religious organisations in the lives of so many in our society and in our country. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency in different areas for Ministers to announce policy towards institutions managed by religious groups through the media rather than raising them first in these dialogues. One of the side effects of this has been to slow down important developments such as the transfer of patronage of national schools. In that case, years have been lost as a previously co-operative approach was replaced by one of mutual suspicion. This certainly happened in terms of the patronage issue.

Has the Taoiseach given any assurance of consultation before major changes in policy towards schools are announced? Specifically on national schools under the patronage of minority religious groups, the cutbacks which targeted smaller schools had a deeply negative impact on them. The changes to staffing allocations forced on the Government through the confidence and supply agreement are helping, but long-term security is needed for small rural schools, particularly those of minority religious denominations. This is something of which I was always very conscious as a former Minister with responsibility for education. It is extremely important that the minority religions, in terms of their education, are protected and that their ethos is facilitated in that regard. It is just as important a part of diversity in education provision. I ask the Taoiseach to look at the voluntary secondary school sector. I believe there may be a bit of discrimination going on in terms of the capital funding of schools in the voluntary secondary school sector. I am aware of a school in Rochestown, St. Francis College, which has been waiting seven or eight years for a new build. It has now been told it will be an extension. Meanwhile, other schools are being built. There is no difficulty with the other schools. There should be parity of esteem in the capital programme, irrespective of the tradition or ethos of any school.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Was there any discussion in the Taoiseach's meetings with the religious leaders on the issue of the quality of sex education in schools? As the Taoiseach is aware, the vast majority of primary schools are controlled and owned by religious institutions. Approximately half of secondary schools are directly controlled by religious institutions, and it seems to me there is a Catholic ethos in many community and ETB schools. Does the Taoiseach believe it is possible to have real fact-based sex education in schools with a religious ethos? Would a teacher who was inclined to give such an education in all cases discount the question of ownership of the school, the ethos of the school and the question of a so-called chill factor? I wonder how issues such as contraception and abortion are taught in these schools. There is the question of the LGBT community and transgender young people. The very fact these schools are segregated is itself a form of discrimination against trans young people. What is taught in terms of transsexuality? What policies do these schools have with regard to flexibility on uniform policy for trans schoolchildren? Perhaps when the Taoiseach next meets the religious leaders it might be time to state it is time to separate church and State in the realm of education for many reasons, not least of which would be the provision of thorough, modern, fact-based education, including sex education, for the children of the nation.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I will start with the questions on the attendance of Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin. My Department, through its protocol division, is assisting the church authorities in the organisation and preparations that need to be made for that visit. Even though it is not formally a State visit, the assistance provided to Pope Francis will be the same as if it were. Pope Francis will be given the full support of the State in terms of protocol, security and any other matters. I understand from Archbishop Martin that the Pope's major interest in the visit is, of course, attending the World Meeting of Families. This is why he is coming to Ireland and Dublin. He may do one or two other things, but the focus of the visit will be the World Meeting of Families and the events associated with it. Any decision on whether he will also visit Northern Ireland is, of course, a matter for him and the Vatican.

I certainly want to join others in acknowledging the worries and legitimate concerns of people in Ballivor in County Meath at the proposed opening of a Narconon centre there. This is, nonetheless, a free country which guarantees free association to people and citizens, so I am not sure whether the Government can do anything if it has planning permission for the centre. Certainly, if people are there by free will and their own decision and they are not been detained against their will, it is difficult to know what actions the Government can take. I will certainly speak to my public representatives in the area to see whether there is a way forward.

With regard to abortion, my role, and that of the Minister for Health, at the meeting was largely to outline the process to date. The process was established by the Government, which set up the Citizens' Assembly which then made recommendations which were considered by an all-party Oireachtas committee. The reports of the Oireachtas joint committee and the Citizens' Assembly are now being considered by the Government and the Cabinet will make a decision shortly. It is fair to say the Roman Catholic Church was opposed to the repeal of the eighth amendment. The Protestant congregations were a little bit more nuanced, but were not supportive of the proposals made by the Oireachtas joint committee. I certainly agree, as did they, that the debate that will occur over the next few months about changes to our laws should be respectful. They should not be personalised and nobody should be pressurised to take a particular view or decision. I call for respect from all sides for all sides in the debate. The people will ultimately make this decision and I trust the people to make the right decision based on compassion and empathy while not disrespecting human life.

There were discussions on school patronage, but most of this will be followed up bilaterally between the congregations and the churches and the Department of Education and Skills. The view of the Government was that what should be paramount are the wishes of parents, especially parents of preschool children who are not already attending school. There will be appropriate consultation and appropriate collaboration in achieving any change of patronage.

I very much agree with the views of others on the need to respect minority groups and to protect minority schools. All of us have a small Church of Ireland or Protestant school in our constituency that is a very important part of the fabric of those communities and we very much support them. We did not have an opportunity to discuss sex education or uniform policy.