Documents

What leading sex educationalists want taught in our schools

In our new briefing note, we examine what a selection of leading voices in the field of sex education want teenagers in our schools to be taught about consent, pornography and gender identity. A great deal of what they want is already in the new Social Personal and Health (SPHE) curriculum for Junior Cycle pupils (12-15 year-olds),...

Read more...

How eugenics took hold in Ireland

The former Master of the Rotunda, Dr Fergal Malone, recently revealed that over 90pc of patients at the hospital opt for abortion once they are told the baby they are expecting has Down Syndrome. A new paper from the Iona Institute says this shows Ireland has now embraced eugenics, a philosophy which distinguishes between those considered...

Read more...

Submission to the NCCA concerning the draft SPHE/RSE programme

THE National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has recently published its draft programme for the Junior Certificate Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, which includes Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). We have major concerns about what it proposes regarding pornography, consent and gender identity. Specifically, we ask if the programme means schools will...

Read more...

The Case against Commercial Surrogacy

Moves are being made to legitimise overseas commercial surrogacy in Ireland. But as this briefing note points out, the practice exploits low-income women and commodifies babies. To download the document, click here. (Originally posted on 18th February 2022)

Read more...

What we’re not told about the consequences of atheism

In many ways, atheism is based on the big bluff that you can have your cake and eat it too. In the latest paper from The Iona Institute, Dr Gerard Casey, former head of the Department of Philosophy at UCD, calls this bluff. The bluff is that you can deny the existence of God, and...

Read more...

The Iona Institute submission on the assisted suicide Bill

The Oireachtas Committee on Justice has invited submissions on the “Dying with Dignity Bill 2020”, presented by Deputy Gino Kenny. The deadline was midday today. The Bill aims at allowing euthanasia and assisted suicide when a person has an illness from which they are ‘likely to die’. A majority of TDs have already voted to move...

Read more...

Mass-going during and after the pandemic

How many Catholics were attending Mass before the pandemic began? How many have returned in the meantime? How many will come back when this is all over? These were some of the vital questions asked in a new Iona Institute poll conducted by Amarach Research. The results of the survey can be found here.

Read more...

Religious practice during the lockdown

A poll commissioned by The Iona Institute, looks at how religious practice took place during the lockdown. It was carried out by Amarach Research in April when no-one could attend religious services. It found that 27pc of people had watched religious services, including Mass, online. The results of the survey can be found here.  

Read more...

Submission on hate speech legislation

The Department of Justice has invited submissions to a review of Ireland’s law against hate speech. It is considering changing the present law so as to make it easier to charge someone with ‘hate‘. The Iona Institute has made a submission of its own to the review and raises concerns that any change to the...

Read more...

Relationships and Sexuality Education

Our new paper is a critique of the liberal philosophy of sex education and how consent is treated as the only necessary condition a couple has to fulfil before having sex with each other. It is a response to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment which is currently conducting a review of Relationships and...

Read more...
1 2 3 7