Labour party calls for assessment of benefits of segregated schools

One-third of second level schools are segregated by gender, and 17% of primary students attend single-gender schools. File Picture: Ben Birchall

Labour says Ireland should analyse whether segregated schools contribute to gender inequality.

The party's education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin says as Ireland has a greater level of segregated second level schools in Europe, it's worth analysing if it's beneficial or harmful long term.

"Whenever we discuss issues of gender inequality I think it is reasonable for us to analyse where this comes from and how we can tackle it better," he said. 

"Within the discussion on domestic violence, this is obviously a very gendered issue. The majority of people who are affected by domestic violence are women, and the problem here, in most cases, is men, and the toxic masculinity is part of that part of the mix.

"It is more difficult to tackle gender inequality when you have a school system segregated on gender lines.

"17% of Irish primary school children attend single-gender schools and there's quite a number of parents in my own constituency who will contact me and wonder why we separate children in their given parish."

He continued, "One-third of our second-level schools are separated on the basis of gender.

"When you have a situation when you're trying to have a level of equality within a school setting when you're trying to encourage people to have a less insecure view of each other, a view of gender equality, it is more challenging to do."

Mr Ríordáin says he is not advocating that single-gender schools should be abolished.

"It is important for us to analyse why Ireland has a greater proportion of single-gender second-level schools in any other European country and is this beneficial, or making it more difficult for us to tackle gender inequality?

"Why we are so determined to separate children on the basis of gender.

"I think it is worthy of us to analyse the benefits of mixed-gender education with the Department of Education.

"When we are dealing with such a high level of gender inequality issues in our society from the pay gap, to maternity leave, to childcare, to all these issues that come up again and again and again, we never broaden this discussion to say; 'An awful lot of our children are first segregated from boys or girls from at age four or five or at second level'."