Danny Healy-Rae: Defends Parental Role in Sex Education
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in his speech on 24 Nov 2021 about relationship and sex education, opposing proposals to remove religion from its delivery and arguing parents should be the primary educators. He said he is proud to be a Catholic while respecting other religions and people with no religion.
Positions stated
He disagreed with comments from Gary and the Social Democrats and said he could not support the bill under discussion. He argued that removing religion from relationship and sex education or directing children away from faith would be wrong.
Parental primacy in education
He emphasised that parents have been delivering sex education for generations and are best placed to judge when a child needs guidance. He noted that children are developing at a younger age and that parents recognise those stages and provide formative support.
Concerns about modern influences
He pointed to phones and computers as sources of potentially bad direction for children and said that parental involvement is needed to counter those influences during development.
Religion and respect
He stated he is proud to be a Catholic and will openly admit it, but also said he respects Muslims, Protestants and people with no religion. He insisted on recognising and respecting different faiths while opposing a one-line approach in schools that would tell children they should not be of any religion.
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Thank you very much, Cathaoirleach. Look, I am grateful to Gary and his team, the Social Democrats. Forgive me this opportunity to discuss this, but I don't agree with, obviously, with many parts of what you said. And you say here that Mother Noyla needs to stop using religion as a method to deliver relationship and sex education. Well, the country and the parents and the children of the country have been managing for decades, for generations, without any direction. And saying that religion shouldn't be involved. I am proud to be a Catholic. And will openly admit it. But I respect every other religion, whether it is Muslims or Protestants or whatever it is, and people that have no religion. I respect each and every one of them. But I think the delivery of sex education, first of all, has to be given by parents. And parents have been doing that for generations, and they are doing it today as good as ever, because I do realise that children are developing at a younger age. And I know that the parents know that as well. And I know that the parents know that as well, and their phones, and they have access to computers, and they get a lot of, maybe, bad direction from some of those things. But a parent knows when a child is developing at such a stage and needs education. And I believe parents are the first. And, you know, in their formative years, it is very important that parents, you know, recognise the need. And they do. And they do. They do that. And they have been doing that. And I don't think we need, you know, to have one line inside the school telling children that they shouldn't be of any religion. I think that that would be wrong. And maybe directing them in a certain way. I can't support this, this bill, Gary. And it's just that I believe that parents are the best to know when the child is developing at a certain age. And to be with them in their formative years, I think they are the best. And, you know, we do have to recognise our religion, whatever religion it is. And we need to respect those other people that have other views. Thank you, Deputy.
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