The Catholic Primate of All Ireland has said he is “alarmed” by the ongoing debates around school SPHE textbooks and training which include controversial lessons around gender ideology and sexuality, adding the Church has not approved the use of these resources.

Speaking exclusively to The Irish Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin has said that no SPHE (Social Personal and Health Education) or RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) resources “should be in any school without consultation with parents”.

The prelate warned that “many of our children are struggling with the issues of today, like gender, being bombarded with stuff online, and a lot of our children need to be able to talk about that and our teachers need to be equipped to be able to talk with them. But there’s a big difference between that and the sort of ideological colonisation that seems to be happening among some people, but not very many”.

The archbishop, who is a former teacher and principal, said he believes that Catholic teachers “instinctively know that this stuff is not appropriate” adding that teachers are “simply there to support parents and I do feel that parents are critical to this”.