"The easiest thing in the world is to get teenagers interested in a discussion about sex," Richie Sadlier tells me over the phone.
The ex-footballer turned psychotherapist is set to present a new documentary series that looks into the complicated history and uncertain future of Ireland's sex education.
His first step? Sitting down with Irish secondary school students to find out what topics matter most to them.
"A lot of the students felt dissatisfied or disappointed with the sex education that they had received in school up until this point," he explains.
"I kind of allowed myself to be led by them, and that, in itself, encouraged them to be more active and interactive in the class."
Landing on RTÉ One tonight at 10:15pm, Let's Talk About Sex was made in the wake of a proposed new curriculum that is set to replace a programme that is more than 25 years old.
When asked what they felt was missing from the current curriculum, students listed a variety of topics including menstrual health, masturbation, porn, sexting, and LGBTQ+ issues.
"They're at the stage of life where it's really appropriate to be curious about this stuff," says Richie. "They're starting to have first experiences or close to wanting to have first experiences, so in a lot of ways you're just pushing an open door."
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As well as helping teenagers get to grips with the complexities of sexual health and education, Sadlier hopes that the documentary will open parents' eyes to the realities of how their kids are growing up online.
"There are so many things that children are having to learn to navigate - and it's tricky and complex and difficult - so there's a real need for us, as adults, to step in and just get past whatever our own issues are," he says.
Noting that many parents will disagree with one another on how and when to discuss certain topics, Sadlier hopes that the classroom will become a safe space for teenagers across the country to learn at a set pace.
"There's an opportunity there and I hope we don't miss it," he muses. "There's an opportunity for something to be rolled out that is fit for purpose for the world that we're in today.
"Not the world that we want them to live in," he adds, "not the lives that we want them to have, but the world that they're actually in, and the lives that they're actually living."
"Young people need us to do more than we're currently doing," he continues.
"All the topics in the workshops were introduced by the students, not by me. We shy away from talking to young people because we think we might be telling them too much too soon, but I just think that fails to appreciate how much they know now."
"They all have access to the internet. Any question they want answered, they take their phone out and they ask Google. They know way more than any previous generation of teenagers, but we need to help them work out what to do with that information."
Let's Talk About Sex airs on RTÉ 2 at Thursday 7th September, 10.15pm. RTÉ Player will have the second episode available immediately after the first episode airs.
