Hear, hear.

Many of us, the Cathaoirleach included, will have received a very reasonable letter from Mr. Declan McKenna, not previously known to me, regarding the use of LGBT and transgender pride colours within the branding and public communications of Government Departments. He specifies the education Department. He says the inclusion of these symbols may be perceived as endorsing particular views on gender identity and sexuality that are not shared by all citizens. He stresses he fully supports the dignity and respectful treatment of every person, regardless of background or beliefs, but he does not believe that a Government Department should be seen to promote any particular ideology concerning gender or society.

Mr. McKenna says the primary remit of the Government is to serve all citizens, children, young people and families impartially. He says State institutions should seek to maintain a position of neutrality on matters that remain the subject of significant moral, philosophical, religious and societal debate. He request that State Departments review their use of such symbols and consider adopting branding that is inclusive of all citizens, regardless of beliefs, and remains focused on the core functions and responsibility of the Departments in question. He says the flying of flags, other than the national or EU flag, outside of Government Buildings is highly inappropriate.

I think he is absolutely right on every point. I ask that we have a debate on the privileging of certain ideas, ideologies and symbols at taxpayers' expense by Government Departments. This is very relevant because when we privilege certain organisations, we see things like what happened last week with the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley. She was challenged and asked about highly inappropriate books being pushed at children by Children's Books Ireland, the same organisation that is looking for €68 million of taxpayer's money to fund modern, inclusive books in libraries. It is highly inappropriate sexual material that is being pushed at children as young as 15. Her glib answer was to say she had not seen the book and it is a problem for parents to deal with. That negligence on the Minister's part is unacceptable.

The former Minister, Charlie Flanagan, gave the lie to even that by saying he approached her about the very same book in 2023 and talked about the inappropriate content and she laughed in his face. I believe that the Minister, Deputy Foley, does not like those particular kinds of books but this is what happens when people get into Government and they are captured. They think if they stray beyond supporting certain ideologies, they will lose their position or place. That is shameful on the part of the Minister and it is shameful on the part of the Government. We need a debate on the very issue Mr. McKenna has raised and we need to ask questions about why an organisation that gets public funding, like Children's Books Ireland, is pushing sexual material at young children at ages that are inappropriate. It is completely wrong and we need a debate on this.