School Curriculum
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-16
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Paul Lawless (AON), Mayo

Confidence in our education system depends on quality resources but parents remain seriously concerned about inappropriate material that is being promoted in our schools, libraries, etc. Concerns have been raised in relation to the book What's the T? by Juno Dawson, which contains sexually explicit material and was promoted to children by Children's Books Ireland and RTÉ. It received significant publish backlash, and rightly so. It has been reported that a teacher raised concerns with the Department in an email back in March 2023, and indeed the former Minister for justice, Charlie Flanagan, raised this personally with the Minister's predecessor in December 2023. Despite those concerns being raised, the book remained recommended as a good resource for children.
Very plainly, what has the Department done since this controversy broke? What review has happened? Can the Minister outline to the House the results of that review, if it took place at all?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:17+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-16