Secularism

Build a Secular Republic

The 2018 policy paper The Future is Secular: The Path Towards State-owned Public Services in Ireland is listed under Related publications below, with links to an online version and a PDF.

This paper sets out the major areas of the state where the Church continues to hold influence – primarily in education and healthcare – and the policy changes required for the state to take over provision of services in these areas. But we go further than this. We propose that, in order to bring about these policy changes, it is necessary for the state to take control of the assets that underlie the Church’s influence in our public services. If we no longer accept the rationale that the Church is the legitimate provider of public services then it is necessary to regain control of those assets. Without owning the schools, hospitals, and lands that the Church uses to provide its services, it will be impossible for the state to finally establish a long overdue system of proper, universally-accessible public services of its own.