UCC Students Attend Dáil Session and Political Journalism Panel

By James Kemmy (News Editor)

Last Tuesday, a group of over twenty UCC students traveled to Dublin to observe Taoiseach’s Questions in the Dáil chamber. The event, organised by the university’s Government and Politics Society, also involved an exclusive discussion panel from senior political correspondents and an educational workshop on the Oireachtas’s legislative processes.

Over the hour-long course of Leaders’ Questions, various opposition figures and independent deputies challenged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. These challenges were primarily criticisms surrounding newly announced cost of living measures, women’s health issues, and tenant evictions, among other pressing subjects. With political dynamics intensifying as the next general election looms, and with Mr Varadkar having only recently re-assumed the premiership, Leaders’ Questions serves as a consequential moment in the Dáil’s weekly schedule.

The session usually receives significant attention from the press and provides a chance for TDs and opposition forces to hold the government accountable for their delivery on key issues. With opinion polls consistently demonstrating a clear split between the centre-right government parties and a fragmented left, predominantly led by Sinn Féin, the political optics of parliamentary exchanges are quite salient in the current climate. 

Known for her confrontational parliamentary style, Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald lambasted Mr Varadkar and his cabinet for, as she sees it,  failing to provide adequate economic support for renters in the €1.3bn spending package which included a €200 lump sum for low-income families and similar supports for pensioners and people with disabilities. “For the life of me I can't understand how the three men leading Government, after two months in talks, could produce a package that is silent on housing”, McDonald remarked. Also vocal was Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae and Ivana Bacik, leader of the Labour Party. 

Interestingly, it turned out to be an eventful week in Irish politics, with the Coalition Government announcing the much discussed cost of living package, Social Democrats co-leaders, Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy announcing their resignations, and a pioneering Citizens Assembly on drug use being launched.

Following the chamber session, the attending students participated in a revealing discussion with senior figures working in Irish media. Hugh O’Connell, Political Editor for Mediahuis (Irish Independent, Sunday Independent), Elaine Loughlin, Political Reporter with the Irish Examiner, and Sandra Hurley, RTÉ Political Reporter, offered their journalistic insights and advice to students in a valuable private session on the grounds of Leinster House. Conducted by Reuban Murray, chairperson of the Government and Politics Society, the three reporters were asked a series of diverse questions about their experiences in the dynamic industry that is political journalism. 

Noting that now is a particularly significant time to be working in current affairs reporting, Hurley pointed to rising political polarisation and the emergence of new social divisions, seen recently in anti-immigration rallies. O’Connell meanwhile, spoke of the competitive and often brutal nature of the journalism profession, particularly in a Leinster House context. Each journalist emphasised the intense and unpredictable reality of the industry but highlighted how rewarding it can be to hold power to account and promote the voices of those usually unheard in society. 

Lastly, the student visitors attended a presentation of the Oireachtas’ legislative process given by Parliamentary education officer, Conor Reale. Here, they were informed about the technicalities of decision making and implementation processes in Irish governance, while career prospects in the civil service were promoted. Various parliamentary procedures and customs were also discussed, ultimately heightening students’ awareness of political operations within our chief legislative institution. Students posed questions on possible parliamentary reforms such as term limits for long-serving TDs and the lowering of the minimum vote age to 16. 

Undoubtedly, the trip was valuable and thought-provoking for students interested in politics, law, journalism, and public administration. Gaining a perspective into the complex world of the parliamentary process was a positive experience and serves to politically engage students even further.