Fiach MacConghail (Independent)

I second the motion.

I will focus my remarks on the post-primary cycle in particular. Section 4 of the rules and programme for secondary schools requires schools to have an agreed policy for relationship and sexuality education and a suitable relationship and sexuality education programme in place for all students at both junior and senior cycle. That statement is taken from the Department's website. However, is this the case? That is the reason we are discussing the issue this evening. Do we know for a fact that all schools are complying with this requirement? The reason we put down this motion is to alert ourselves and the public to a requirement and necessity for us all to be vigilant as sexuality is becoming increasingly mediated by the Internet. At junior cycle, the RSE programme is part of social, personal and health education, SPHE. It is the responsibility of the school board of management to ensure that a RSE programme is made available to all students. As Senator Martin McAleese outlined, the aims of SPHE, as part of the curriculum, supports personal development, health and well-being of young people and helps them to create and maintain supportive relationships. This is a part of the junior cycle and RSE is taught within this module.

An excellent report was published in 2007 by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the then Department of Education and Science on RSE in the context of SPHE. It was an assessment of the challenges to full implementation of the programme in post-primary schools. It was carried out between November 2004 and January 2006 and it is still the most comprehensive study of relationships and sexuality education conducted in Ireland.

What is clear and, in my view, unequivocal is the importance of school-based relationship and sexuality education. It does not negate the role of parents or families but, according to previous studies, Irish teenagers strongly support classes that deal with relationships and sexuality. The aim of RSE, according to policy guidelines, is to acquire a knowledge and understanding of human relationships and sexuality through processes which enable them to form values and establish behaviours within a moral, spiritual and social framework.

The programme does not seek to tell young people what they should think, say and do in their sexual lives but it seeks to foster students' personal and sexual development holistically, with reference to the range of social and societal influences that can have an impact on how young people think and feel about their personal, romantic and sexual relationship.

The research in this study found that in Ireland, there is a lack of confidence among young people in the school-based sex education to which they are exposed, if they are exposed to it at all. A most interesting finding on the barriers to good teaching of RSE is its low status in the school curriculum and this was a concern in 2007 when this report was published. It was found that only 60% of schools surveyed had a RSE policy. Some 30% of schools reported not teaching RSE in third year, 43% in fifth year and 48% at leaving certificate level. Do we have any further baseline data available to us in 2011? Has it receded or has it increased?

This morning I texted my daughter, who is now going into transition year.