The ethos of schools must not be allowed to prevent pupils’ access to education on sex and relationships, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has said.

Under the Education Act (1998), schools are free to determine what they consider to be appropriate sex education in line with the “characteristic spirit of the school”.

Speaking at the Oireachtas committee on gender equality, Mr Harris said access to sex education “can’t be down to the luck of the draw, the ethos of the school or where you live”.

“I worry that in the absence of proper, factual information being accessible in a school setting that young people may develop attitudes to sex and expectations around sex from social media. We’ve got to call this out. We’ve got to get real on this and get on with it,” he said.

He said he was undecided about whether legislation was needed to oblige all schools to provide this information, but said it was vital that children have access to ‘impartial’ education on sex and relationships.

“I defend to the death the right of a parent to decide the ethos of the school [they send their child to] … but it is a separate and distinct issue to be able to access age-appropriate, impartial, fact-based information on sex and consent,” he said.