Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

Sinn Féin warmly welcomes this Bill and congratulates Senator Power on her initiative and assure her we will support the Bill should it be pressed. We firmly believe discrimination and intolerance should be challenged and stamped out wherever it exists and that the days of loopholes and shelters for any type of ignorance should be put behind us. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers have the right to have their private lives respected and the repeal of archaic loopholes which allow discrimination in the name of ethos must be removed as quickly as possible. We all believe teachers should be judged, employed and treated on the basis of their ability alone.

The ending of this legalised discrimination is about more than teachers, as was alluded to by a number of speakers. The weight of laws such as section 37 impress upon gay, lesbian and transgender people the type of self-censorship which enable and propagate homophobia in general. We all know schools are where children form their identifies and learn and develop as individuals. Our legislation and legal protections need to have tolerance, diversity and equality as paramount within them.

The treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers can have a major bearing on how young gay people see themselves. Teachers are role models for school children and this is no less true of gay teachers. Young people coming to terms with their sexuality should feel comfortable in having gay role models as teachers. When young gay people see that their role models are being discriminated against, or even verbally bullied, they will be less confident and less comfortable in asserting their individual rights.

While the ethos of the school must be respected, this should, in no way, allow for discrimination against teachers because of their sexuality. This week the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, told of us his plans to reshape the patronage system for schools. His plans show the need for our schools to reflect the reality of Ireland in the 21st and so does this Bill. Sinn Féin welcomed his proposals as a step in modernising our education system and we do the same today with Senator Power's Bill which, like the Minister's proposal, is long overdue. We wholeheartedly support this Bill.