Nick Crawford:

1. People should have a choice of what school to go to, and should be able to go to a school with no religion.

2. The church should not rule the state.

3. –

4. I have no issue with hospitals having a religious ethos if they are run by a religious order. However, if they are publicly funded, the state should have a say in whether they are neutral.

5. Absolutely.

6. Yes, I’d agree with that

7. I come from a mixed religion background and see myself as fortunate that the family was open-minded on religion. People should be allowed to pursue whatever religion they wish so long as it doesn’t adversely affect anyone else. Religion is a person’s right, but I don’t believe that church and state should in the future be intertwined as they have been in the past.

Carl Haughton:

1. In my view education is the cornerstone of the future of this country. As you know Ireland is internationally acclaimed as having one of the most highly educated populations world-wide. We should do all we can to retain this badge of honour and I fully endorse any contribution to this cause. It should not matter what religious ethos a school has, once our children reach their majority they can choose whatever religion they wish (if one at all).

2. In the first instance I suspect such a referendum would fail as the vast majority of citizens in this Country would not support such a proposition. It would therefore be a waste of tax payers’ money to have such a referendum (and we can do without the Government wasting more badly needed public funds). If, in the future, there was sufficient public support for such a referendum I think there should be one.

3. No

4. I would be loathe to interfere with the work done by the medical professionals.

5. I understand the Equality Act outlaws discrimination on religious grounds and I support that legislation.

6. A religion is not a tax payer so I am afraid I do not understand that question. If a religious or non-religious organisation is a registered charity it may have tax exemption status insofar as the law allows.

7. I think we will have to wait to see what society requires in terms of the future and address the future issues at that point.

Mike Deegan:

1. Will you work to reform the education system so that all children in your constituency can access publicly-funded schools which have no religious ethos?

yes of course

2. Would you support a referendum to remove religious references from the Constitution?

yes we are a republic

3. Do you believe that blasphemy should be a criminal offence?

no

4. Would you support legislation to prevent hospitals from having a religious ethos?

yes . but from my own experience dthey do not anyway

5. If elected, would you vote to ensure that religious bodies are treated the same as other organisations under equality and employment legislation?

dont exactly get u need to know more but they shopuld certainly obey the laws of the land

6. Do you believe that religions should have to pay their fair share of tax on income that does not come from charitable activities?

of course

7. If you wish to provide a brief general statements of your views on the future development of secularisation in Ireland, or to highlight any previous comments you have made on related issues, please do so.

i call ‘god’ the universe and i deal with the universe.

if there is a ‘god’ he works for the universe

Ivana Bacik:

1. Will you work to reform the education system so that all children in your constituency can access publicly-funded schools which have no religious ethos?

Yes, I have already been working on this campaign.

2. Would you support a referendum to remove religious references from the Constitution?

Yes, and again I have already been working with Atheist Ireland to achieve this result.

3. Do you believe that blasphemy should be a criminal offence?

No.

4. Would you support legislation to prevent hospitals from having a religious ethos?

Yes.

5. If elected, would you vote to ensure that religious bodies are treated the same as other organisations under equality and employment legislation?

Yes.

6. Do you believe that religions should have to pay their fair share of tax on income that does not come from charitable activities?

Yes.

7. If you wish to provide a brief general statements of your views on the future development of secularisation in Ireland, or to highlight any previous comments you have made on related issues, please do so.

I have written and spoken widely on the need to ensure a more secular state in Ireland (see for example ‘Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the Twenty-First Century‘, O’Brien Press, 2004; and my website www.ivanabacik.com).

In addition, please see the Labour Party response on behalf of all its candidates.

Eamonn Gilmore:

See the statement provided by the Labour Party on behalf of all its candidates.

Sean Barrett:

See the statement provided by Fine Gael on behalf of all its candidates.

Mary Mitchell-O’Connor:

See the statement provided by Fine Gael on behalf of all its candidates.

Ciaran Cuffe

See the statement provided by the Green Party on behalf of all its candidates.

No Response Received From:

Mary Hanafin

Barry Andrews

Richard Boyd-Barrett

Victor Boyhan

Daire Fitzgerald

Candidate Not Contacted:

Trevor Patton

Fine Gael statement

Green Party statement

Labour Party Statement