Fianna Fáil proposes bill to protect rights of gay teachers

19/02/12 5,718 Views 118 Comments

Averil Power is the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Education and Skills

Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

FIANNA FÁIL HAS called on the government to legislate for the protection of lesbian, gay, and bisexual teachers against discrimination by publishing details of a bill today.

The bill (which can be viewed here) makes amendments to the Employment Equality Act and would mean that schools would not be able to discriminate against teachers who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

As it stands, the current law allows schools to claim that hiring a gay teacher would undermine their religious ethos. Fianna Fáil claims that while the programme for government commits to changing this law, no action has being taken to date.

“Over 90 per cent of Irish primary schools are under Catholic management. Such schools could be entitled to refuse to hire a gay or lesbian teacher or principal,” Fianna Fáil senator Averil Power claimed.

“Many teachers therefore feel compelled to hide their sexual orientation from their colleagues and pretend to be someone they are not. Our bill would tackle this injustice and prohibit discrimination against LGB teachers.”

If the bill is passed it would allow for schools to continue to insist that staff members demonstrate respect towards their ethos and not seek to undermine it. But it would not allow them to treat staff or potential staff differently because of their sexual orientation or martial or civil status.

Cathal O’Riada, a primary school principal and the Chair of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Group, said that removing the ability for schools to discriminate would be an “enormous and immediate relief” for LGB teachers.

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) also welcomed the move by Fianna Fáil saying that gay and lesbian teachers have “lived in fear for their jobs and their prospects within their employment” under the current legislation.

“This legislation is another key initiative to ensure that LGB people can live open and happy lives, free from discrimination,” Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin added.

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Comments (118 Comments)

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Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 21 189

It’s about time a politician took a stand on this blatant discrimination and inequality. This legislation wouldn’t just protect teachers though it would protect anyone working in an organisation that has a particular ethos. It protects nurses and doctors working in Church run hospitals too. I for one am so relieved that this issue is finally being dealt with. I just wonder whether the Government parties are going to support it as it has been put forward by the Opposition.

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Jimmy Casey 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 30 256

How about we just remove religion from schools already.

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- Mark Mac 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 14 93
  
  if only
- Seán Joe Kearns 20/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 3
  
  Money, I’m afraid to say, is the reason we can’t remove religion from schools….
  
  When the free state was founded, the church took control of most schools and in return they provided the land, the buildings and the staff… And right now we can’t afford to buy out the church and we still need their property so we’re stuck really.
  
  It sucks, I know, but it’s the situation we’re in.
Desmond O'Toole 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 37 217

Fourteen years in office and they said nothing and did nothing on this important issue. Now they’re complaining that this government, barely a year in office, isn’t moving fast enough. FF must really think we all have such short memories. #FIANNAFAILURE

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- Feargal Garvin 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 25 141
  
  Yup, this is part of a cynical campaign of suggestions and policies that FF wouldn’t touch with a barge pole while in office. Judge FF on their record, not their rhetoric.
- Stephen Kearon 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 51 120
  
  It’s never too late to make the right decision
Angry Atheist 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 36 147

What about protecting the rights of atheists? Don’t we deserve equal opportunity in state funded institutions too?

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- Matt Crosbie 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 7 19
  
  A noisy atheist is as bad as a noisy Christian. There should be no religious ruling at any level
Jack Driscoll 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 38 125

I love how Fianna Fáil’s trying to portray itself as liberal and progressive. You think we’ll forget how you allowed the Catholic Church to rule Ireland for 60 years? You think we’ll forget how you bankrupted us? Nice try, but GET OUT AND STAY OUT!

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- Fiachra Ó Raghallaigh 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 21 59
  
  Would you rather that they just sat quietly and did nothing, wasting all our money for five years? They got enough votes to oppose the government, and that’s what they’re doing.
- Jack Driscoll 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 23 29
  
  They’re trying to delude the electorate into thinking that theyve stopped being a corrupt bunch of gombeens by stealing Labour’s progressive colours. You seem like a nice lad Fiachra, and I believe that you probably mean well, but how can you support these people?! You’ll have to pay high university fees, spend years on the dole, and much more because of them. Are you suffering from stockholm syndrome or something?
  
  Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you’re cynical, and are hoping to get a nice cushy job through FF connections. But thank God the electorate are smart now, and can see FF from what they are now.
- Joe Sixtwo 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 8 27
  
  FF will start its “reopen the Vatican embassy” petition with Dev jnr. at the helm round about Easter and use this piece of legislation to show how “progressive” they are.
Jack Kelly 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 10 78

In SPHE parts of sex ed (contraception etc) have to be cut out of lessons because of the Christian Ethos. Teen pregnancy on the rise; don’t educate youth on contraception due to some (now redundant) Christian Ethos. Makes total senes… (sarcasm, obviously).

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- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 7 60
  
  In fairness there should be some kind of education at home, my mum thought me, I am in the process of teaching my kids, schools have a very outdated view of sex ed so it’s really up to parents to steer their kids in the right direction
- Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 25 18
  
  “Schools have a very outdated view of sex ed” what makes you say that!??
- Matt Crosbie 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 12
  
  @ Roy: because it’s true. Teenage pregnancy is at an all time high
  
  @ the one: teenage girls should be given contraception by their parents and taught well in the subject because they will be lumbered with the responsibility once the idiot teenage boy eventually f**ks off
Patrick Coffey 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 43 57

FF were the party that made it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race, gender or sexual orientation. They were party to decriminalise homosexuality and they were the party to introduce civil partnerships. Basically, the only party on this island to consistently deliver on LGBT issues.

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- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 17 57
  
  They were in bed with labour at the time they decriminalised homosexuality and we all know what Dermot Aherne said about it
- Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 12 14
  
  What did he say?
- Ciaro 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 29 50
  
  Fianna fail should vanish off the face of the earth.
- Mark Mac 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 9 43
  
  decriminalise homosexuality about 3 decades after everyone else it should be noted
- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 47
  
  During the debate on decriminalisation of Homosexuality in the Dáil in 1993, he agreed with a statement by Fine Gael TD, Brendan McGahon which reads: “Homosexuality is a departure from normality and while homosexuals deserve our compassion they do not deserve our tolerance” and who described homosexuals as being “like lefthand drivers driving on the right-hand side of the road.”
  
  Ahern himself added: “Will we eventually see the day in this country when, as has happened in the USA, homosexuals will seek the right to adopt children? We should think seriously about this possibility”. Following his appointment as Minister responsible for equality, Ahern has refused to be drawn on this matter and has not given an answer as to whether he still holds those opinions.
- David McDermott 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 13 30
  
  The greens forced them on the civil partnership. which in itself is a sham. at least in UK their civil partnership is equal enough to marriage rights in all but name
- Donnacha Maguire 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 25 20
  
  FF had a commitment to civil partnerships in their 2007 Manifesto; before th deal was done with the greens.
- Steven McCarthy 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 11
  
  They were also the party who put in the religious exemption for schools and hospitals into the Employment Equality and Equal Status Acts.
  
  This PMB doesn’t go far enough. If Power was serious she would remove the clause exempting schools from discriminating on religious grounds completely. Schools can refuse to employ a single mother, divorcee, person ‘living in sin’, etc on religious grounds as well – why only remove the exemption for gay people?
The One & Only 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 8 30

Blasphemy anyone :)

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Cyril Butler 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 10 65

This is one of many areas where the tie between Church and State is hugely problematic. As a hospital employee I am breaking hospital policy by not following its religious ethos by being an outspoken rationalist/secularist. A few years ago we were taken from the lab to hear a presentation on the hospitals ethics policy which largely consisted of a pro religion doing gods work lecture given by one of the nuns.

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- Sheila Murphy 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 18
  
  Out of interest Cyril, did you mention your thoughts at the time?
- David McDermott 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 46
  
  No hospital or school should have any ethos!! im sick of this monopoly the catholic church has on everything! if the catholic church wants their own schools let them pay for them. no state school should be under control of any religion as well as the hospitals!!
- Cyril Butler 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 27
  
  Oh no Sheila. I blame the govt more than the nun involved. She had obviously been doing it for years. Complaining there wasn’t going to achieve anything only make myself look rash. The law is on the side of the religious institutions. Change has to happen by the people demanding their leaders to bring it about.
Francis Howard 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 42 11

Didn’t realize this was the burning issue for Fianna fail. Aren’t the public the most protected employees in the state ?

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alzee 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 112 19

what a load of crap theres far more important issues.

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- Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 4 59
  
  There are always more important issues depending on your viewpoint and how the issues affect your life. Does that mean we should never legislate for those issues that are less important?
- Cyril Butler 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 15 22
  
  Grass roots Fianna Failer indeed.
- Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 13 13
  
  @Cyril….I’ve never ever been a member or activist or supporter of Fianna Fáil….ever!
- Cyril Butler 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 15 18
  
  Roy that was directed at Alzee with the FF emblem not you. Don’t worry I would never accuse a progressive view point as being a FF supporter. At least he was wise enough not to show his name.
- Rommel Burke 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 8
  
  Better check that avatar again Cyril ;)
Liam Byrne 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 9 68

The simple solution is to remove all religious ethos from state-funded, PUBLIC schools. The government can do this very cheaply, as the catholic church owes child abuse victims millions of euro. Transfer the assets over for free!

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- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 8 20
  
  Exactly :)
Unitedpeople Ireland 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 57 32

26 years of FF and they NEVER looked to seek justice for Irish fathers and their rights.
Now instead they come up with this stuff instead?

Fianna Fail – completely still useless and completely still full of idiots!

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- Mark Mac 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 44
  
  this stuff instead? so if it doesnt concern you personally its not worth a look in? you should be working for FF yourself.
- foggy_lad 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 13 9
  
  Most of those Irish fathers have spent time in jail rather than pay court ordered maintenance for their own children. Why should they be given anything?
- Unitedpeople Ireland 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 13
  
  It seems some people here need to check out http://www.fathers.ie/
  
  The rights of fathers has LONG been called for updating.
  It has got nothing to do about money for most fathers – its about access and the plain right to see their child!
  …But the educated and informed would know that!
  
  For example, as the current laws stand:
  
  In 1966, the Supreme Court clarified the following aspects of the Irish Constitution:
  
  (i) a natural or biological father is not a member of a family within Article 41;
  (ii) a natural or biological father is not a parent within Article 42; and
  (iii) a natural or biological father has no personal right in relation to his child which the State is bound to protect under Article 40.3 (The State (Nicolaou) v an Bord Uchtála).
  
  In 1996, the Constitution Review Group acknowledged that “there has been much criticism of the continued constitutional ostracism of natural fathers”
  
  …And that was 1996 for crying out loud – what did FF do in ALL those years? NOTHING! Absolutely bloody nothing!
  
  I’m all for gay rights and they also being updated (My bestman (and best friend) at my wedding to my female wife, was gay) but for Fianna Fail to start crying about how laws should be updated, is a sick joke.
  
  They didn’t bother their bloody arse when they had the chance for over 26+ years!
  
  They are a disgrace and continue to be so!
- Brian Walsh 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 5
  
  You’re not wrong. A friend of mine went through a seperation and then divorce, I couldn’t believe how his wife could just repeatedly ignore various judges rulings, but she did. Many years later his kids now think he deserted them. I can honestly say this man was the best father I have ever met, I can only hope some day they realise that.
Brian Sheehan 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 10 44

GLEN – Gay and Lesbian Equality Network – strongly support this initiative. In their press statement they say that ““while no case has yet been brought which alleges discrimination in this context, the threat implied by Section 37.1 has acted as a ‘chill factor’ for lesbian and gay teachers. It has meant that employees or prospective employees, whose lives may possibly be interpreted to be contrary to the religious ethos of some religions, have lived in fear for their jobs and their prospects within their employment”.

See the glen website http://www.glen.ie for details…

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Dan O'Connor 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 103 13

What about the rights of straight teachers??

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- Mark Mac 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 7 46
  
  oh dear oh dear oh dear..
- Cyril Butler 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 4 52
  
  Dan do you know of any schools with a gay ethos?
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 14
  
  This is funny.. Do you see ANYONE being discriminated against in the school teacher setting for being “straight”? I honestly would like to know how heterosexual teachers’ rights’ are being ignored (in the specific area of sexual preference).
- Auntie Dote 20/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 2
  
  Strangely enough, they’re the same rights.
alzee 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 150 19

this bill will send our children the wrong message.we must enstill in our children that this lifestyle choice is wrong and completley against nature.

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- Seán O' Dulaing 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 14 49
  
  As a FF supporter I disagree completely. In the constitution of 37 set out by de Valera the state guarantees civil liberty to all citizens of Ireland. I as a FF member uphold the Bunreacht.
- Desmond O'Toole 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 11 43
  
  Troll alert.
- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 8 69
  
  Lol lifestyle, as someone who spent most of her life in a closet because of people like you with your homophobic comments I sincerely hope the new generation of kids embrace their gay side and be proud of who they are :)
- Adam Long 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 43
  
  Your bigotry is beneath contempt and thankfully represents a small and shrinking ‘viewpoint’ in this country.
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 15
  
  Is it against nature? Homosexuality has been witnessed in the natural world outside of normal displays of dominance.
  
  Is it wrong? Hmmm.. Is love wrong?
  
  The only bad example anyone is setting is homophobes like yourself, preaching that difference is wrong and enforcing bigotry.
alzee 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 89 11

“emburace there gay side” are you suggesting were all a little gay…my god your deluded

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- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 47
  
  I do share some people’s views that are if someone is overtly homophobic it means they are some how unease with their own sexuality, I have plenty of straight friends who support the LGBT cause and have no problem going to Panti bar or the George fir fundraisers or even supporting Marriage Equality on civil marriage cause ;) there’s nothing like a homophobe who can’t even get to grips with their own sexuality
rathminer 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 122 19

I’m not convinced that either teaching or parenting are appropriate jobs for homosexuals. Controversial, I know. It’s gut instinct based on my experience of homosexual personalities. Generalisation, I know.

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- Donnacha Maguire 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 11 68
  
  Severe bigoted generalisation.
- Conor Kirwan 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 79
  
  Right… I’m sure that gay teachers would be pursuing their gay agenda with their gay maths, their gay geography, their gay chemistry and so-on! Oh and no doubt this horde of gay educators and parents will be turning paisti na hEireann queer because that’s how it works!
- Conor Kirwan 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 8 54
  
  I must tell all the gay people I know in long-term committed relationships that they’re not really gay at all because if they were they would just be going around shagging the next person in sight.
  
  Oh rathminer, I’d be in stitches if I didn’t know you weren’t joking!
- jim redmond 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 30
  
  Rathminer. What “homosexual personalities” are you referring to? P.S. you have not made any arguments
- rathminer 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 56 8
  
  Many will have seen that I made some amazing arguments. They’ve been removed, however. Too many red thumbs from the gays.
- Adam Long 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 4 25
  
  Your arguments are far from valid and you are simply rehashing offensive and utterly discredited stereotypes to justify your own homophobic bigotry. And it’s a good thing that your ignorant views are not typical of ‘heterosexual pesonalities’, the vast majority of whom support full equality for LGBT people. So by all means continue littering online forums with your meaningless drivel, behind an annoymous twitter account with a grand total of 6 tweets, and we in the gay community will continue openly and confidently fighting for full equality along with our many straight friends and allies.
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 14
  
  Rathminer, if these utterances are anything to go by I can see that they are completely invalid as they are based upon fallacy. A fallacy is an error of reasoning, that only make sense to an illogical mind.
  
  Study logic, and I am sure you will see just how off the wall you sound.
- Auntie Dote 20/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 1
  
  Apparently your views are not controversial, just bigoted and therefore deservedly unpopular.
Shane Gleeson 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 20 33

Averil Power, failed TD

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Donnacha Maguire 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 20 31

I’m a FF member and think this is the right thing to do. Yea FF were in Gov for a long time but didn’t change this rule. Now is a chance for the Gov to take the right path.

FYI, Lab were in Gov between 82 and 87; why did it take a Norria legal action to start the proceans of decriminalising homosexuality?

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- Ciaro 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 23 18
  
  Can I suggest a good spellchecker?
- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 23
  
  Catholic church still had its grip on the country it was only in the early 90′s where the can of worms started to open that the church lost its grip
Roy Mitchell 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 30

That is a disgusting accusation to throw at all gay male teachers. Have you learned nothing….gay does not mean paedophile!

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rathminer 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 30 3

It doesn’t MAKE you a pederast, but there’s worrying evidence of a correlation and it’s too important a situation to ignore something like that.

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- Rommel Burke 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 4
  
  care to share your evidence?
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 4
  
  And you’ve never seen a 30 yr old guy dating a 16 year old then no?
  But I guess that’s ok, because you approve of heterosexuality..
  
  I don’t approve of adults dating kids, but it happens every day.. It’s only considered a problem when it’s homosexuals because of the implied wrongness of their sexual preference. Which comes back to homophobia – an irrational, illogical prejudice.
Adam Long 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 8 42

This is a welcome development and Senator Power is to be congratulated on proposing the Bill. Labour committed itself to repealing Section 37 in its manifesto and only yesterday Health Minister James Reilly told LGBT Doctors that he supported removing it so it’s great to see a growing consensus around getting rid of this discrimination in our employment equality laws.

It is completely unacceptable that a segment of our labour force are not covered by our very strong and robust laws in this area and the opt-out should never have been inserted in the first place. It facilitates prejudice under the guise of ‘ethos’ and must be repealed as a matter of urgency.

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stephen corrigan 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 4 36

Secular state anybody??

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- Auntie Dote 20/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 1
  
  Yes, please!
alzee 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 99 14

The majority of people have no problem with 2 people doing whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes.The gay agendists dont want to stop there and never have.They want to force the ram their ideology that homosexual behaviour should be given equal status as heterosexual behaviour,when it clearly shouldnt.Now the extremists are experimenting with the wellbeing of children to fulfill their selfish narrow minded,arrogant and ignorant agendas.Lots of gay people are also uncomfortable with this.

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- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 9 64
  
  You do realise how utterly stupid you sound it’s not 1980′s any more it’s 2012 :)
- alzee 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 73 10
  
  It isnt just my opinion.90% of the cultures/religion(Catholic,Protestant,Hindu,Muslim,Buddhist ) consider homosexuality to be a bad thing or not something to be promoted.Its a deep evolutionary instinct probably predicated on the fact that societies or human groups which promote homosexuality,probably have an evolutionary disadvantage due to large numbers of genes being taken out of the communal pool by homosexual behaviors.
- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 24
  
  So the other 70% are straight offenders
- Anthony Nolan 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 6 48
  
  I’m so shocked by your comments that I actually think you are just taking the piss…nobody could be that small minded!
- alzee 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 55 9
  
  they are the facts you might not lke them but they are the facts.
- The One & Only 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 9 49
  
  Rathminer and Alzee get a room will ya :) then stench of repressed sexuality off the 2 of you’s is unreal
- William Grogan 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 22
  
  Rat-minor’s statistics are total bullshit. Who’s keeping track of the actual sexual orientation of criminals?
- William Grogan 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 21
  
  Alzee, I have to laugh. I’ve never seen anyone post an argument before that combined Evolution and the superstitious beliefs of the religious. (The current Pope said he doubts Evolution as do the Muslims.) Your comments also indicate that you haven’t a clue about Evolution. While a homosexual may be at a disadvantage in reproducing all his or her genes, the individual genes that make someone a homosexual must confer an advantage or they would have disappeared. Evolution acts on the individual genes.
- Adam Long 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 35
  
  I’m loathe to reply to this annoymous bigot but just to make clear on this forum – every credible organisation working in this area has stated there is no connection between homosexuality and paedophilia. Abusers target both male and female children – this kind of sickening abuse does not distinguish between gay and straight. You know the bigots are getting desperate when they roll out this canard.
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 22
  
  Albee you are severely misinformed.
  Homosexuality cannot be “cured” as it is not a disease, it’s a sexual preference!!
- Brian Ó Dálaigh 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 21
  
  @ Alzee – since when do Buddhists have a problem with homosexuality? As someone who has many Buddhist friends (and who has practised Buddhism in the past) I can safely say, without a shadow of a doubt, that homosexuality is not frowned upon in Buddhism. It may be frowned upon by some states purporting to be Buddhist, such as Thailand, Bhutan, etc., but there is nothing in Buddhism which considers homosexuality a bad thing. Perhaps you should read up a little on the topic before highlighting your own idiocy. Regarding the “curing” of homosexuality – good luck with that one, as homosexuality is not a disease. There is no cure, and there will never be a cure, short of torture.
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 12
  
  It’s not considered wrong in most pagan Spiritual practices either.. And then there’s all those who do not identify with a religion..
  Come to think of it, I have Christian friends and know some Muslims who have the good sense to realise its just bigotry too..
- Denise O'Hara 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 0 13
  
  I read this comment and thought wow could this person be any more inappropriate , small minded and bigoted ? .. And then I read your subsequent comments and the mist cleared… You can !
- eimsley 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 1 2
  
  What are you on about??
Stephie Fitz 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 10 53

Get the church out of our schools! Problem solved!

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- Mark Neville 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 2 3
  
  Not so easily done. The Church and religious orders built 90% of the schools in Ireland as the State abdicated its responsibility to educate its children. The Church and religious orders own these schools and the lands attached to them so the State needs sone serious money to get these schools handed over. The State has no money so it can’t do it.
John Brennan 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 44 2

Thankfully our constitution is like to put Ms.Power back in her box.

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foggy_lad 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 16 23

FIANNA FAILED HAD THIS FOR TEARS AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT BUT NOW THAT THEY NEED A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND VOTES THEY ARE TRYING TO BUILD ALL THE BRIDGES THEY HAVE PREVIOUSLY BURNED!

Shame on the traitors and turncoats of the most corrupt and pestilent political party this small country has ever seen.

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Anthony Nolan 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 3 23

So old fashioned…there are a lot more things that need to be changed if the government are to evolve as much as the people they govern have.

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Ed Appleby 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 10 42

People in Ireland need to ask themselves why it is, that in the year 2012 a religious cult is allowed to run most of the schools and hospitals in a country that is supposed to be a developed modern European state. These two basic institutions of life in Ireland should be provided by the state, that’s why people pay taxes so that the state can provide education and health care without bias or influence from any ethos be it religion or political. One can understand corrupt or underdeveloped third world countries relying on NGO’s and religious organisations to provide in these areas where failed states don’t, but Ireland in 2012, I know it’s a banana republic but surely this situation should have been sorted out a long time ago? What have the politicians being doing other than feathering their own nests all this time? You could tolerate this in medieval times but not now, it’s 2012 not 1412 get the schools and hospitals out of religious hands so that they can be free of these ridiculous religionists.

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DaveC 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 39 24

Nobody cares what FF think and anyone who thumbs this down is either related to someone in FF or needs their head examined.

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Michael J. West 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 2 4

I don’t know how Power not being a TD is much comfort when your party leader, who IS a TD, is loudly in favor of the bill.

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Gill Jones 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 9 14

I’v never heard such sh!t drivel in all my life. I pity your life, I really do.

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- Gill Jones 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 5 18
  
  Hey my comment was in reply to the bigot aizee or what ever the persons name was!!! As a stand alone comment it looks like I disagree with the article (which I don’t). What’s up with that?! Was their comment removed or something?
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 6
  
  That’s happening to me too.. It’s rather confusing.. I seem to be getting a lot of errors on this page, but I can appreciate why these vile comments may have been removed.
Shanti Om 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 6 12

Wow.. This is utterly vile.
Care to back up ANYTHING you just said? Or is this standard plucking statistics out of your ass talk?

Reply
- Shanti Om 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 4 9
  
  It appears the post I was replying to by Alzee has been removed..
- Gill Jones 19/02/12 #
  
  Report this comment 3 9
  
  Ditto
Stephen Murphy 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 13 11

15 years too late, pack your bags FF and take the first plane out of here. The Irish aren’t thick anymore, or are they?

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Frank2521 19/02/12 #

Report this comment 7 0

@ANVIL POWERLESS – Please don’t behave like a pimp and go hide your head in shame. To get votes please spend the next 10 years delivering “meals on wheels” much more usefull.

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Jack Kelly 20/02/12 #

Report this comment 0 11

Truly disgusted by some of the comments in this thread. It reminds me of the scene in Milk when the Gov. (I think) proposes a law outlawing gay teachers using arguments as seen in this thread. And; how do you find out if a teacher is gay so he/she cannot teach a class?

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Martin Grehan 20/02/12 #

Report this comment 4 7

Fianna Fail spends the history of the state oppressing people and now suddenly they’re a progressive left-wing party. I can taste vomit in my throat.

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Taz Linehan 20/02/12 #

Report this comment 1 3

It’s a step in the right direction anyway.

Reply
Sean Davids 20/02/12 #

Report this comment 3 2

I like the way they left out the T in LGBT, at least they still have some common sense.

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MyPolitics 20/02/12 #

Report this comment 6 3

Gays are the most over represented group of people on planet earth. For such a tiny percentage of the population they have hijacked large parts of the media. Tv has become a massive gay platform. Just like feminists they will never be satisfied and they will also never have my support.

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Matt Crosbie 21/02/12 #

Report this comment 0 1

Troll thread consisting of hard line, fundenentalist fianna fail supporters and normal people

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