On Sunday, RTÉ posted a story by Education Correspondent Emma O’Kelly who wrote about changes to Coláiste Éamann Rís, a school in Cork city which she said had been “transformed ” by recent changes.
One one those changes, she wrote approvingly, ‘stopped her in her tracks’. Under the heading of “Shared toilets a symbol of Cork school’s transition” she explained.
“A notice pinned to a door post in the corridor of a Cork city school stopped me in my tracks last August. RTÉ News was at Coláiste Éamann Rís to film and talk to some of the school’s 140 new first years. The notice read “shared toilets”.
“This was a first for me; gender-neutral toilets, and in a Christian Brothers school no less.”
It is three years since Coláiste Éamann Rís went co-educational and the move has transformed the once boys-only school. In 2018 it faced closure, with just 260 students enrolled. Now, it has received almost the same number for first year applications alone https://t.co/zzy2qhwPY3
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) February 6, 2022
However, many of the responses on social media were not so positive in terms of girls and boys sharing toilets, a contentious issue which many parents feel is being pushed on students without consultation.
One parent wrote: “I’d take our daughter out of her school if they changed to these toilet plans. Completely against it.”
I’d take our daughter out of her school if they changed to these toilet plans. Completely against it.
— Caoimhín ⚫️ (@Caoimhincc72) February 6, 2022
Another woman disagreed with claims that it was “great” for boys to see girl’s period products made available.
“No boy has a need for period products. This woke ideology being pushed on kids is messing with their heads and bodies,” she said.
'They have tampons and sanitary towels in those gender-neutral toilets, and that’s great for the boys, as well as the girls, they just have to get used to,'
No boy has a need for period products. This woke ideology being pushed on kids is messing with their heads and bodies.
— Karen Luby (@RuftynTufty) February 6, 2022
Another woman said that the move seemed contradictory to the statements made recently in regard to women’s safety.
We are a country of contradictions: only recently we were discussing women's safety and yet we think shared toilets in schools is progress! 🤔😔 pic.twitter.com/xKs6NXJy5h
— Catherine (@cmcmnn) February 6, 2022
A poll commissioned by the feminist group Countess.ie found that 62% of Irish people believe that toilets in public buildings should have to be single sex rather than gender neutral.
Last year, the Department of Education caused a furore by issuing new guidelines issued to schools regarding the construction of shared bathrooms for boys and girls in schools.
New construction and refurbishment guidelines from the Department of Education caused a furore by indicating that toilet facilities could be shared if they included self-contained cubicles – with communal sinks for all pupils.
The guide said that schools “must adapt to modern changing needs” and the illustrations showed a preference for boys and girls accessing the shared bathroom. While schools, at this point, can still make the final call on the issue, the concept of male or female only bathrooms is no longer included in the specifications from the Department.
Now a Freedom of Information request has revealed that no correspondence exists between the Department of Education and the Health and Safety Authority in regard to mixed-sex toilets in schools.
In addition, there was no correspondence between the Department of Children and the HSA on the issue, the FOI revealed.
Serious concerns regarding privacy and vulnerability of female students in particular have been raised in regard to the Department’s guide, which campaigners say will be tied to funding.
Campaign group, The Countess Didn’t Fight for This, say evidence from other countries shows the moves will leave many young girls too afraid or ashamed to use the facilities.
“Research from the UK shows that the growing trend for mixed-sex toilets has left girls feeling unsafe and is putting their health at risk. Some girls are even missing school rather than face “period shaming” from boys. Many girls run the risk of infections because they’d rather deal with a full bladder than use the toilets. Others have simply stopped drinking liquids at school, which can lead to dehydration,” they said.
“The government is railroading mixed-sex toilets in after no consultation with parents and without carrying out the necessary impact assessment into the risks for young girls.”
“We are calling on the government to uphold the rights and protections of girls under this exemption.”
“The government’s new toilet provision policy is all the more confounding when one considers that the United Nations – of which Ireland is a member – campaigns for the provision of single-sex toilets in the developing world, on the grounds that a lack of segregated facilities is a major obstacle to girls attending school due to concerns over privacy and safety.”