“We are sinners beyond compare,” said Eamon Ryan during his ministerial speech to College staff and students for Green Week 2023. He was referring to Ireland having the highest emission rates per capita in the European Union, but these pre-written …
Vapes — the recyclable product that barely anyone is recycling
With Green Week 2023 on the horizon, it is time for students to take our recycling responsibility seriously
From 1995 to 2015, the number of teenagers and young people smoking in Ireland had been continually decreasing. However, according to Professor Luke Clancy of the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland, from 2019 onwards this trend has done a complete …
STEM students are being left behind during election season
According to a survey carried out in the week leading up to the TCDSU elections, voters in STEM courses feel that candidates do not pay them enough attention
For a week-and-a-half in the early spring, Trinity experiences election-fever. The Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) elections bring with them hundreds upon hundreds of manifestos, flyers, and business cards. For many, it seems like you can hardly move in …
Now is the winter of our discontent… again
After years of inaction, the government are now out of excuses for overcrowded hospitals
“Nurses are now expected to crisis manage a situation that isn’t of our making”.
This quote, from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, (INMO), perfectly encapsulates the feelings of frustration and despair amongst hospital staff in this country every winter.…
Two Taoisigh and three Prime Ministers walk into a bar…
We cannot laugh too much at Britain’s three Prime Ministers in as many months when the best we could come up with is a rotating Taoiseach role that highlights the absurdity of our own system
Step aside, Roz Purcell and Pippa O’Connor. Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar are currently Ireland’s trendiest influencers. Mere weeks before our rotating Taoiseach system is due to be implemented, as Varadkar assumes Martin’s role, the British government decided that they …
Ibec’s objections to paid domestic violence leave are as nonsensical as they are contemptible
For victims of domestic violence trying to escape abusive situations, monetary concerns are an ever-present factor that this new bill will help alleviate, whether Ibec like it or not
On 5 October 2022, the work-life balance and miscellaneous provisions bill 2022 was presented to Dáil Éireann and legislation to implement it is currently being worked on by Green Party TD and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth …
It is never too early to start teaching consent, but it can be too late
Whilst sexual consent education workshops are becoming more and more common in universities unless the foundations are taught in secondary schools we are fighting a losing battle
In April of 2021, students across Ireland received an email containing a link to a Higher Education Authority (HEA) survey on student experiences of sexual violence and sexual harassment. The findings from it, published in January 2022, made for depressing, …
Landlord TDs do not deserve our pity
The Robert Troy scandal has shone a light on the dangerous conflict of interest between landlord TDs and their constituents
August is a long time in politics.
Since coming into power in June 2020, the coalition government of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party have not survived a Dáil summer recess without enduring a national scandal, resulting in …
The SEC is running out of excuses for late Leaving Certificate results
Pay disputes, poor organisation, and extreme staff shortages are issues that have plagued the SEC for many years, and have now resulted in unacceptable delays for students during an already stressful time
As the new academic year looms ever closer on the horizon, returning students are faced with familiar tasks: module enrolment, registration, fee payments. These are the annual, slightly tedious jobs that must be completed in mid-to-late August so that our …
Halving public transport fares is only half the battle for rural students
The government’s solution to the rising cost of living is an urban-centric initiative that ignores the root of the issue
Between rising fuel prices, the looming threat of climate change, and soaring inflation, there has never been a more costly time to rely on a car. Many European countries find themselves scrambling to promote public transport to combat these issues. …