Ms McTeague's 4th class got the wonderful opportunity to visit Leinster House in Kildare street recently! They had a wonderful day out where the pupils got to see the lower house (The Dail), and the upper house (The Senate).
Dáil Eireann, also called The Dáil, is the Lower House of the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas is the legislature of Ireland. A legislature is a group with the authority to make laws for a country or city.
The Irish constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, describes the Dáil as a House of Representatives. This is because members of the Dáil have been elected to represent the people in different areas across Ireland.
The Dáil chamber has confrontational benches. These are benches which are facing one another. The end segment is curved to create a partial hemicycle. A hemicycle is a semi-circular or horseshoe-shaped debating chamber where TDs sit to discuss and pass laws.
The Ceann Comhairle is seated in the centre of the chamber. The government TDs sit on the Ceann Comhairle’s left, with the main opposition party on his right.
The Dáil normally meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Since 1922, the Dáil has met in Leinster House in Dublin. Unfortunately the Dáil was not in session until 2pm on the day they visited so they were unable to see the ministers, TDs, the taoiseach, Simon Harris and the opposition parties.
The children also got to visit the gallery of portraits of former taoisigh. Following the tour of this iconic Irish building, the children got a chance to have fun in St Stephen's Green playground. Please enjoy the photos attached.
A big thank you to Parm for organising this amazing day out. Everyone really enjoyed their day in town!