Fair Trade

Watch these two short videos and see how Fair Trade has improved the lives of these communities.

Fair Trade Bananas




Fair Trade Coffee

How to make a complaint

You buy a TV for your room from Leahy Electricals. When you get home you find it is not working. You go back to the shop to complain and hope for a replacement but the weekend shop assistant tells you it won't be replaced because you didn't notice the fault in the shop.

The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services ACt 1980 says that whatever you bought is covered and should be replaced but you cannot get access to the shop owner/manager Mr Leahy.

You need to write a letter of complaint. The National Consumer Agency provides templates for writing a complaint letter on their website.

Here is one below. Complete the letter inserting the relevant details.

Template Letter of Complaint - Services

Date (of sending the letter day/month/year)

Name of owner/Manager of Business /shop

Full Address of owner/shop/business

Dear (insert owner/manager’s name or Sir/Madam)

On (insert date of purchase) I bought (description of the product, include any details which will make the product identifiable to the company). I attach a copy of my receipt for your information.

I am writing to you because (outline the problem, for example one of the following)

• The service was not carried out with the necessary skill
• The service was not carried out with due care and diligence
• The materials used were not of merchantable quality 

On (insert date) I rang and spoke to (insert name of person you spoke to) but (insert outcome here, for example I have heard nothing further since).

Under the ‘Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980’ if a consumer has a contract with a service supplier the consumer can expect that:

• The supplier has the necessary skill to provide the service
• The service will be provided with proper care and diligence
• The materials used will be sound and that goods supplied with the service will be of merchantable quality

Under consumer law my contract is with the supplier of the service/product and as such I am writing to you to seek (state what you want the supplier to do e.g. offer a repair, replacement or a refund*).

I would appreciate your response within 10 working days. If you wish to discuss by phone, I am contactable by telephone/mobile at (insert daytime number if available –optional).

Yours sincerely,

__________________________(signature)

Print your name here

* As a consumer, if you purchase a faulty service the law entitles you to seek either a repair or replacement of the service or a refund. It is a matter for you to negotiate with the seller for your redress. However, if a repair of the service is offered then it should be permanent. If not, and if the same problem occurs again, then the buyer is entitled to seek another form of redress. If you cannot agree on the form of redress, your next step after this letter may be the Small Claims Procedure  - see our website/booklets for full details.


Source

The Ombudsman for Children

An Ombudsman (http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en) investigates complainst about public bodies such as An Post, the Health Service etc. The office is there to protect citizens' rights. The Ombudsman examines the problem and if he/she feels that a complaint is justified then he/she will make a recommendation for a solution to the problem.

Some organisations have their own Ombudsman. For example there is an Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, an Ombudsman for the Garda Siochana and there is an Ombudsman for Children.

The Ombudsman for Children is Emily Logan. On the OCO website she says "My name is Emily Logan and I have the honour of being the first Ombudsman for Children in Ireland. That means that I work for all children and young people under 18 living in the Ireland and my job is to make sure that the government and other people who make decisions about young people really think about what is best for young people."

Ms Logan is advised by a Youth Advisor Panel - young people who respresent youth and present your views. Listen to some members of the panel talk about why they got involved with the OCO and some of the highlights of the past couple of years.

A view of Mountjoy Prison

Concept: The Law

Here's where most of Dublin's criminals end up serving their sentences for crimes committed.




From these photos, what do you think prisoners lose as a result of their criminal activities?

Watch this video about life in a juvenile prison in America.

The Court room

Concept: The Law

Who's who in a court room? See the photo below.

Click the image to enlarge.

Tips for helping the Gardaí

Concept: The Law

Source

Q: What tips would you give to someone who has witnessed a crime so that s/he could give a clear and accurate description of what happened to the gardai?

A: Make notes about the incident as quickly as possible after the event. Include the following:

• Time / date of crime
• Number of people involved.
• What happened.
• What you saw.
• Car registration, colour, make, any specific markings.
• What were the criminals wearing - jeans, runners, coats, - colour etc.?
• What direction did they go off in?

CSPE Actions

Here are some actions you could take to raise awareness, get people involved in a project, promote an event, etc etc

Road safety campaign
Organise a visit in - by an expert - to learn from them and ask questions
Have a Skype conference call
set up a Facebook page and develop a fan base
Set up a twitter feed/ campaign - increase your followers / follow people who can retweet your tweets
Set up a blog and gather followers online

Visit out - to learn about a person/ place etc
Tidy up local area
Litter lift
Buddy system for bullying
Have a xxxxx(safety, anti bullying, animal awareness etc etc) Week in school
Homework club
Set up student council
Conduct a survey and display results
Letter writing campaign
Write and send out a newsletter
A carol service for local old age residents
A carol service to raise funds
Hold a cake sale / raffle / bring and buy sale
Have an ad campaign on radio / tv
Make announcements in school
Poster campaign to raise awareness
Organise / sign a petition / protest

Organise a sports event in aid of a charity etc - raise funds/ awareness

Set up a homework club / friendship club
Set up a Games Club - provide somewhere for bullying victims to enjoy lunch in peace