Only half of the State's primary schools have said they will teach the RSE sex education programme in the current school year.
The Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme was launched two years ago and all 21,000 primary teachers completed training for it in the summer of 1997. The Department of Education's original aim was that RSE would be introduced in most schools by last June.
However, in a message to the weekend conference of a new antiRSE organisation, Parents and Teachers for Real Education (PATRE), the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Martin, said preliminary survey returns from more than 1,000 primary schools showed that only 54 per cent had "indicated their intention to teach the RSE programme in some or all classes in the current school year".
Some 74 per cent of schools "have taken the first step in implementing an RSE programme by setting up an RSE policy committee".
The difficulties of getting RSE implemented at primary level, where many parents are known to be unhappy about teaching sex education to young children, are shown by the comparative figures for second-level schools. At second level, 83 per cent have set up RSE policy committees and 81 per cent have said they will teach the course this school year.
The conference in Dublin was attended by about 250 people. Its chairman, Dr David Doyle, said it had groups in 15 counties. Participants claimed that 100 Co Kerry schools alone were refusing to become involved in the RSE programme.