Democracy

Chapter 6 - Democracy: Of the People, by the People, for the People

Democracy

The key words in this section are
DEMOCRACY,         CONSTITUTION,         ELECTION,      REFERENDUM,       RIGHTS,                       GOVERNMENT

Democracy is.......

A Democratic society is usually governed by a Constitution. Any changes to the Constitution must be made by consulting the people in a Referendum. The Referendum Commission in Ireland was set up to explain the subject of any referendum proposals, to promote public awareness of any referendum and to encourage the electorate to vote at the poll.

The Irish government is called the OIREACHTAS. We have a President and two Houses: Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate).

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President of Ireland

The key words in this section are
PRESIDENT,         OATH,         ELECTION,      PARLIAMENT    GOVERNMENT,   SEANAD,    DÁIL,     TD,    TAOISEACH

Here is a link to how the President of Ireland is elected.

www.environ.ie 

Michael D Higgins is the current President of Ireland. Find out about his work here http://www.president.ie/

 

Listen to him take the Oath of Office below, check your book and answer this question:
What will the President dedicate his abilities to?

Check the Presidents Engagements page and list 4 things the President will do this week.

The Seanad


Watch this video and answer the questions:
1. What are the members of Seanad Éireann called?
2. How many members are there in Seanad Éireann ?
3. How many members can the Taoiseach nominate?
4. Who elects the Cathaoirleach?
5. When does the Seanad meet?



The Dáil

Watch this video and answer the questions:
1. What are the members of Dáil Éireann called?
2. How many members are there in Dáil Éireann ?
3. How often must a general election be held?
4. When does the Dáil meet?
5. Who is the Ceann Comhairle and what does the job involve?




Find out about a day in the life of a TD in these photos below:

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Political Parties


These are the main political parties in Ireland:

Fianna Fail http://www.fiannafail.ie/ 
Fine Gael http://www.finegael.ie/
Labour http://www.labour.ie/
Sinn Fein http://www.sinnfein.ie/
Green Party http://www.greenparty.ie/

Independent TD's have formed a Technical Group in order to increase their speaking rights in Dáil Éireann.

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Voting and elections 


The key words in this section are
POLLING STATION,         REGISTER OF ELECTORS,
BALLOT PAPER,   CANDIDATE,    QUOTA,    POLLING CARD CONSITUENCY,    REFERENDUM,     CAMPAIGN,     LOBBY,
INDEPENDENT,    SPOILED VOTE,    COALITION


See this post for other key words and their meanings associated with Elections.

The Citizens Information website gives clear instructions on voting in Ireland and RTE had clear instructions for the last general election in 2011.


Ireland and many other countries use the PR -STV (Single Transferable Vote) system to elect TD's.  Here is a short video from New Zealand on how this system of voting works.

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Northern Ireland

The key words in this section are
DIRECT RULE,     POWER-SHARING,     DEVOLVED
N.I. ASSEMBLY,   NATIONALIST,    LOYALISTS,    UNIONISTS REPUBLICANS,    DECOMMISSIONING,   STORMOUNT


Watch a short video below of the background to the N.I. Peace Process and why it was necessary.
1. Which country supported the peace process?
2. Who were the major negotiators of the peace deal?