The Parliamentary Education Team hosted Erasmus exchange students and a Transition Year (TY) Work Experience Week in Leinster House in March.
The TY work experience week in Leinster House offers a a structured week-long work experience programme for students, providing an inside look at how our parliament works.
During the week, from 23 to 27 of March, students visited the Dáil public gallery for Leaders Questions and also got to meet and chat with elected members from their constituencies.
This is the fifth work experience week of its kind, and activities included mock elections to explain our proportional representation with a single transferrable vote system and also mock parliamentary proceedings, working in groups to discuss or create legislation on social issues.
The students had a tour of Leinster House, including insights into the civil service roles within the parliamentary structure was also part of their week.
The group were brought to the Europa Experience at the Dublin EU Liaison Office and took part in a role-play game where they became members of the European Parliament.
The Parliamentary Education Team also hosted a large group of students on 25 March for a workshop which took place in the Reading Room at Leinster House.
The group, that was made up of 49 senior cycle students, are participating in an Erasmus exchange between Ratoath College, Co Meath and a German secondary school (Niklas-Luhmann-Gymnasium Oerlinghausen).
Deputy Mairéad Farrell, as Convenor of the German-Irish Parliamentary Friendship Group, addressed the students followed by Deputy Jen Cummins, also from the Friendship Group.
This Erasmus project focuses on comparing the development of democracy in Germany and Ireland, with a particular emphasis on the different forms and opportunities for political participation in both countries. As part of this project, the students explore how democratic institutions function and how citizens can contribute to political decision-making. Learning about the Irish parliamentary system is therefore be extremely valuable for their work.