Social Democrats Call for Complete Separation of Church and State

The Social Democrats have today called for a complete separation of Church and State in a move to take religious influence from education, medical care and politics. Speaking during the debate in the Dáil this morning on the discovery of children’s bodies in Tuam, Catherine Murphy TD, joint-leader of the Social Democrats said “it is time for us once and for all to address the need for a total separation of Church and State.”



Catherine Murphy went on to say:



“We have got to take the Church from our schools, from our hospitals and medical care, and from our politics. It is unacceptable that children are regularly discriminated against in our education system based on religion, it is unacceptable that religious orders can hold any influence over medical institutions and the healthcare provided particularly to women, and it is unacceptable that the Dáil opens up every day with a prayer that is not representative of all elected members or citizens; and it is unacceptable that our national broadcaster, funded by the State, subjects citizens of all faiths and none to the angelus bells twice daily.”



She said these were “relics of a bygone era” and that “if Tuam has shown us anything it is that the State must take responsibility for its citizens and that the Church has no legitimacy in the healthcare, education or politics governing our citizens.”

9th March 2017

[ENDS]

For further information please contact:

Anne-Marie McNally

01-618 3591 / 086-3754315

annemarie.mcnally@socialdemocrats.ie

@amomcnally



