Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

At the outset, I commend the good work of many in the education system. We all want a world-class education system that allows every child to real his or her full potential. However, too many people feel that the Department of Education and Youth is ignoring the voices of those who matter most, namely students, parents and teachers, many of whom have contacted me. There are hundreds of children with special educational needs who do not have school places. There is chronic absenteeism. Teachers are warning us that leaving certificate reform is being rushed and that standards are being diluted. Parents across the country are feeling shut out of decisions about their children's education.

We are seeing a system that is no longer listening to professional experts or parents and that is not dealing which reality. This is particularly true when it comes to the roll-out of the Bí Cineálta programme. While we all support efforts to tackle bullying and promote kindness in schools, this programme introduces complex ideas about gender identity in ways that many parents and professionals feel are not developmentally appropriate. Bí Cineálta was originally developed to emphasise the importance of integrating people with disabilities and autism and children from impoverished backgrounds, many of whom are most of risk of bullying. However, it now focuses primarily on bringing gender ideology into the classroom. It forces children to accept gender ideology as fact. Gender ideology goes against progressive politics. It tells children that if they do not conform to the rigid notions of femininity or masculinity, they are really the opposite sex inside. It tells children that if they do not like dolls or football, they are outside the norm. We have a duty to ensure that what we teach children is grounded in best practice and appropriate for their age and stage of development.

We must also respect the constitutional role of parents in guiding their children's education. When more than 4,000 submissions from concerned parents are dismissed without meaningful engagement, something is very wrong. Bí Cineálta will be embedded throughout the school curriculum, so parents who do not wish for their children to be taught gender ideology will have to remove them from school altogether. There is no ability for parents to have their children opt out of learning factually incorrect information because this policy will be mandatory.

Psychiatrist and member of the Cass review clinical expert group Dr. Paul Moran has stated, "the Department of Health should reconsider some of the overly affirmative educational and training materials it is sending to schools" and has questioned the prominent role that has been given to activist organisations over clinical advice in respect of policy development and teacher training. After the Cass report was published, the North of Ireland, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Hungary, Poland and Italy immediately removed gender ideology from their curricula because they took the advice of experts not activists. They listened. We also seem to be behind the curve on issues like this all the time. When other countries became aware of the harm this could do to children, they acted immediately to protect them. The Government is aware of this discourse and, thankfully, dropped the idea of letting those under 16 medically transition from the programme for Government. We need the Government and the Department to lead the way on ensuring education is based solely on factual evidence rather than biased agendas. The Bí Cineálta programme has to be stopped. Every child deserves support and respect, and that must come through evidence-based age-appropriate policies. A world-class education system should not turn a blind eye to what is factually true.