Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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692. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the Cuan Consent education toolkit has been made available to all secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17454/25]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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693. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the Consent-Ed project is available to all schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17455/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 692 and 693 together.

Improving people’s understanding of what consent is is of significant importance in delivering a society where there is zero tolerance for all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Extensive research on attitudes to sexual consent in Ireland has been carried out over a number of years by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, supported by my Department and by Cuan, the statutory agency dedicated to tackling DSGBV

It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that the research has demonstrated the extent to which consent is misunderstood, or the extent to which communication on consent is avoided.

As part of our work to combat that, my Department launched the ‘Let’s Have The Consent Conversation’, a major national awareness raising campaign promoting the importance of healthy sexual consent, in late 2023. This campaign has been developed to work in tandem with DRCC’s We-Consent initiative as part of a national conversation to develop a shared understanding of the importance of consent in all relationships.

By encouraging people to talk openly and honestly about sexual consent, the objective is to create a society where everybody can feel comfortable discussing their boundaries, desires and expectations when it comes to their sexual relationships. By fostering open communication, the aim is to enhance mutual understanding, equality and respect.

Evaluation of the campaign so far has given positive results in terms of people’s comfort discussing consent and recognising its importance in their own lives. We’ve also seen a decrease in those that assume that consent is implied.

Cuan is now in charge of this campaign, and it will continue through 2025 and 2026.

Cuan also supports a number of education initiatives in both primary and secondary schools and into informal and into informal educations settings as a key preventative measure in the drive to create a society that does not tolerate domestic, sexual and gender-based violence but embraces healthy relationships.

As the Deputy’s question relates to information held by Cuan, I have forwarded it to the DSGBV Agency for direct response.