Ceann Comhairle hosts Parliamentary Symposium on Enhancing Participation in Public Life and Politics

The Symposium is examining three distinct areas which the Ceann Comhairle believes can make the career in public life and politics more inclusive, attractive and accessible: diversity in 21st century Ireland; the interests of young people; and women’s participation in the parliamentary community.

The keynote speakers at the event are:

• Furkan Karayel, Author, Diversity and Inclusion Speaker Ireland, on ‘Reflecting the diversity of 21st century Ireland in the Parliamentary Community’;
• Harry McCann, Founder of Digital Youth Council, on “Representing the interests of Young People”;
• Rachael Rollins, United States Attorney for District of Massachusetts, on ‘Promoting Women’s participation in the Parliamentary Community’.

Each keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session moderated by a Member of the Oireachtas, before an invited audience of current and former Members of the Daíl and Seanad, current and former members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Irish Members of the European Parliament, Lord Mayors from Local Authorities, relevant non-Governmental Organisations, Secretaries General from Government Departments and Ambassadors from the European Union.

The Ceann Comhairle said: “One of my priorities as Ceann Comhairle is to make Parliament more attractive and accessible to all our people, by ensuring the Houses of the Oireachtas is a welcoming and supportive environment and a more inclusive, family friendly and gender sensitive workplace. Last year the Forum on a Family-Friendly and Inclusive Parliament which I established made a series of practical and achievable recommendations to do just this.

“Today in Dublin Castle, we will take this process further with this Parliamentary Symposium where Members of the Dáil and Seanad will be joined by Furkan Karayel, Harry McCann, United States Attorney Rachael Rollins, and panellists from across Irish life and society, as well as experts from America, Canada and Europe, to discuss how we make public life and parliament more family friendly, inclusive and attractive for all our people. The purpose is to consider big picture ideas and challenges that the parliamentary community can advance in the spirit of common purpose.

“My motivation for this theme of inclusivity is the rapidly changing Ireland that I see every day on the streets of our capital city and in our regional towns. Through its membership of the EU and because of an open-minded approach to the 21st century phenomenon of economic and political migration, Ireland has become a truly multi-cultural place as well as a more equal society and it is all the stronger for this.”

The Ceann Comhairle continued: “At this time of international volatility and upheaval across the world where democracy is being taken for granted and abused in many instances, we must ensure that that our own democratic institutions are representative of the people as they exist in the country today. We need to recognize the population shifts that have happened and the cultural changes that have come about in this country.

“Our public life and politics need more women, more young people and more of the new Irish, and more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to offer themselves for election or become involved in working within the Houses of the Oireachtas. We need the energy, the enthusiasm and the idealism that young people bring. We also need the perspectives from people from more marginalized communities that in the past have been reluctant to put themselves forward for election. We need the perspectives of the tens of thousands of new Irish who have settled here, who are proud to be become Irish citizens and who are making valuable contributions to Irish society across the country.”

Full details on the Parliamentary Symposium 2022 are available here on the Oireachtas website.

The Symposium will be streamed live on Oireachtas.ie.

Details on the Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament and its final report are available here.