So if you ever wondered how laws are made or why we vote, pay attention and continue reading. This is A Students’ Guide to the Oireachtas. Or as I like to call it, Laws and stuff... PG
I am worried that I won’t be able to have the same college experience as other people...
I have lived with dyspraxia for my whole life a a plethora of unique challenges for me to deal aspects of life dyspraxia has proved to be a m sure that anyone living with a disability will agree that it can provide quite a few difficulties. Living with an invisible physical disability has made it quite difficult to explain and prove to people why I struggle with certain things. In school I struggled to write at the same pace and quality as my peers, This was a difficulty throughout my whole school career but thanks to one teacher in particular who took an interest in my difficulties I was provided with accommodations such as a laptop for school to keep up with the work the other kids didn’t seem to struggle with quite as much. It took quite a while to get the accommodation I needed which is an issue I’m sure any person with a disability can relate to, and even after that, it was a struggle to prove to people that I had to work just as hard if not harder in school than everyone else even with my accommodations.
In sports, I had to struggle my whole life with what felt like an equal amount of work with half the results as my peers, not only that but I never felt comfortable enough to try and explain to coaches that I wasn’t lazy or stupid but just that my brain was wired differently and couldn’t achieve the same things in the same ways as my teammates; because of this I believe that there should be more easily accessible disability friendly sports teams and events in both rural and urban areas.
Finally, in a social aspect, I always felt very awkward explaining to friends why I was the way that I was but once I found people who put in the effort to understand and help, life became instantly easier, This is why I believe that there should be awareness raised for lesser known disabilities, disorders and diseases as once people understand what it is like to live with these things it is far easier to build a support system of people who understand. Doing some personal research on some disabilities can make a big difference toward understanding.
Maybe not existential ‘worried’ like nuclear war ‘worried’ or climate collapse ‘worried’ (although there IS that too). Mine is an insidious, lurking and slow-burning worry in the back of my mind as a rural sixth year student, knowing that next year I’ll hopefully be off to college but facing a desperate search for affordable accommodation, (I’ve heard all the nightmare stories).
Being an Irish teenager, we’re used to being worried, it’s what we do it seems! As a self-proclaimed over-thinker; I worry when I’m late and I worry when I’m early; I worry when I post or when I don’t post, missing out or doing too much. It’s safe to say I have a lot of experience in the world of worrying, but this feels different.
Although people come from different backgrounds, some with more hardship than others, the housing and accommodation crisis is affecting us all. A ubiquitous topic of conversation amongst students is finding affordable and available housing. Students across the country are already overwhelmed with the stress of exams, and figuring out what we want to do, we don’t deserve the added anxiety of finding a roof to put over our heads.
The possibility of having to commute for hours everyday or sleeping in a car is becoming increasingly common and real for many. Not only is it a problem of cost in places like Dublin, Cork or Galway, there simply aren’t any available options. We are seeing an increase in students deferring their courses simply because they could not find a viable living situation.
So, I am worried. I am worried that I won’t be able to have the same college experience as other people. I am worried that rural students will be blocked from having equal successes as urban students. If you care about social inequality or the rural/urban divide and the future of our generation, you should be worried too.
This is a Students’ Guide: The Oireachtas and the Legislative Process (aka Laws and stuff )
Many young people have probably heard of ‘the Oireachtas’ on news bulletins, or like many things nowadays, you might have seen something you vaguely remember about it online. When it comes to politics, young people in Ireland are often unaware as to who the Oireachtas are, or even exactly what they do. This is understandable, and is not at all helped by the removal of CSPE as an exam subject on the Junior Cycle curriculum. However, it may surprise you to learn that the Oireachtas plays an important role in the lives of all young people in Ireland. So if you ever wondered how laws are made or why we vote, pay attention and continue reading. This is A Students’ Guide to the Oireachtas. Or as I like to call it, laws and stuff!
The main function of the Oireachtas is to make laws. It also holds the Government (Taoiseach and ministers) to account. The Oireachtas consists of 3 parts.
The 2 Houses of the Oireachtas
- Dáil Éireann
- Seanad Éireann
The Dáil consists of 160 TDs who are directly elected by the people at least once every 5 years, by way of a general election. Despite being referred to as the lower house, in practice the Dáil is the more powerful of the 2 Houses of the Oireachtas.
The Seanad consists of 60 Senators. Senators are not elected like TDs. Instead, they can be elected or nominated by a mixture of university graduates and other politicians. The Seanad of the day is dissolved and new members are voted for around the same time a general election takes place.
The office of President is the highest political office in Ireland. The President is directly elected by the people every 7 years. The President is responsible for making sure that all draft legislation (bills) are inline with the constitution. When they are satisfied they then sign the bill into law.
When politicians want to propose new laws or amend existing ones, their proposal is known as a bill. A bill is a draft law. It is the job of TDs and Senators to propose new bills to their colleagues for debate. Before a bill can become law, it needs to pass 5 stages in both Houses and then go to The President. Stages 2 and 3 are considered the most important.
Stage 1.) The bill is first introduced to one of the Houses of the Oireachtas
Stage 2.) A debate is held on the merits of the bill, and politicians speak about what could be included or taken out of the bill.
Stage 3.) During this time a bill is sent to a smaller group of politicians known as a committee for detailed scrutiny. They have the opportunity to propose amendments to the bill.
Stage 4.) This is the last opportunity for amendments to be made to bills.
Stage 5.) A final debate is held on the bill, but no more changes can be made to it. A vote is then held and if successful the bill goes to the other house where stages 2-5 are repeated.
Once a bill is passed by both houses it goes to the President to be signed and declared as law.
HowCanYouGetInvolved?
The best way to influence the political process is to vote in elections. You can register to vote from 16 years of age. If you are too young to vote, it is worth engaging with youth groups such as ISSU, NYCI and Foroige, as these groups can often give young people a platform to express their views. If you feel passionate about a certain issue or bill, you can engage directly with TDs or Senators via email or by visiting their office or constituency clinic.
And something I am passionate about is the challenges rural people face in their day to day lifestyle. Some of these challenges are things such as limited access to public transport, less access to mental health services or even health services in general and limited amount of educational facilities. As a student myself I have seen that schools in rural areas are offering less subject choices compared to schools in rural areas, subjects such as Applied Maths and Politics and Society in the Leaving Certificate course.
This stops students from getting access to subjects they could be interested in and stops them from getting them future careers in these industries. Access to transportation is one of the biggest issues that rural people have to deal with and this means people need to get cars to travel around with as public transport is unreliable and not accessible this increases air pollution which puts more pressure on the environment having better public transportation be more convenient on the local people and also better for the environment . Using me as an example I have to travel six kilometres to get to the nearest stop for a Train or Bus but this could be even worse for people living in even more rural areas. The lack of Health Services such as Mental Health Services is a big issue. People travel from fifteen minutes to an hour upwards to get the aid they need. Having the lack of these services could ultimately lead to people not going because they have no proper access to them. Rural areas need changes to be made in order to make these places more accessible and more of an attractive place to live.
I am angry because I am being excluded, by society, by the government, by everyone. Gender Equality is achieved as defined by the Department of Justice “when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including in economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviours, aims and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured.” I am also a demigirl, I feel excluded and judged by this definition of gender equality.
It is very confining when you do not identify with a gender and there are only two bathrooms, one for boys and one for girls. Which is why I believe that there should be gender neutral bathrooms in all public buildings, schools and community spaces. Non Binary people are often subject to forms of discrimination for example in competitions relating to sports such as the olympics there are two gender categories, male and female, and unfortunately there will now be strict rules to “prohibit athletes who have gone through what Western Australia (WA) called “male puberty” from participating in female world rankings competitions” there is no competition for people who identify as non binary.
This is true of schools as well, there are no school sports teams/leagues for non binary people. Regarding schools I believe that gender neutral bathrooms are particularly important in single sex schools as there are likely students who identify as non binary or to the opposite sex that their school is made for.
Gender neutral bathrooms are for everyone and when you attend a single sex school but you identify as transgender you may feel out of place just being in the school so why not just have a room, one room whether it’s a bathroom or not just one room that’s welcome to everyone.
Ireland ranks 7th in the EU on the Gender Equality Index. This isn’t bad but I believe as a society we can do better. When I say women I am of course including transgender women. Trans women are women. I think it’s important to recognise that transphobia can affect biological women as well as transgender women. For example a trans woman may experience transphobia for using a girls bathroom but a biological woman may be mistaken for transgender and experience transphobic discrimination. This is disgraceful especially for women who don’t perform their femininity in the traditional way. The benefits of achieving gender equality are endless. It will prevent gender based violence against women which makes our society safer, it bridges the gender pay gap and removes the stereotype of women being the primary caregivers in the home.
When looking at gender equality I think that it’s important to take an intersectional approach for example a woman of colour can experience racism and sexism. Often a person’s view of a woman may not include their view of a coloured woman for example as a black woman I am often asked why my hair was so different to that of a white woman’s. We must achieve gender equality for all, not just some. When empowering women we must work to empower all women.
Achieving gender equality means that the education system is more inclusive, accessible and empowering for all students regardless of their gender. In regards to second level students in single sex schools we must work towards subject equity in girls and boys schools.
For example subjects such as Woodwork, Metalwork and Politics and Society do not seem to be offered in many all-girl schools. Subjects such as Home Ec and Music do not seem to be offered in many all boys schools. This is a complete inequality.
In particular the fact that Politics and Society is not offered in many all girls schools, the government has made significant strides in getting more women into politics but the stereotype that girls cannot be leaders and that boys cannot be musicians is long gone and this should be reflected in schools. It should also be reflected within the curriculum, we need more equality based literature in the English curriculum, we need equal representation within the History curriculum. The curriculum can either be used to reinforce gender stereotypes or to support and promote gender equality.
are all elected officers of the ISSU, they are all contactable and open to readers of this ‘newspaper’
Máirín
Welfare Officer and Equality Officer of the ISSU
Eoin Murphy
Bel Nabulele
Luke Jordan
Regional Officers for Mayo Sligo Leitrim and Limerick Clare North Tipperary
Brian Hubbard
Regional Officer for Cork
Supported by the Communications Officer and the International Officer, Leo Galvin and Iffah Rahmat
what
I AM.... a newspaper written by students. Here you’ll find every article begins with the phrase “I am”. Each article is linked to an expert interview conducted on that topic. The articles are written so that you can see ways to take part in the world around you. Questions? contact us at newspaper@issu.ie