Ireland and Europe: Current Affairs, Politics and the Role of the Citizen - Monthly Meet Up

Facilitator:  Odran Reid, Lecturer, Environment & Planning at TU Dublin

Bolton Street

8 x 2 hour sessions once a month each Monday. 

(plus Two additional special events and visits to The Dail and hopefully a visit to the European Parliament Information Office) 

This course is for those interested in understanding how current affairs, local, national and European government works. It will involve lectures, discussions, debate and some reading. 

The course is strong on class interaction where participants share their views and experiences.  It is ideal for those who have a general interest on what is going on around them, who like to listen, watch and read the news.  In this coming year, Ireland will be hosting the European presidency, while the US mid-term elections will take place in November, which in the current geo political climate have become important well beyond the shores of America. Other important elections will take place in Sweden, Finland and Greece during the college term with Italy Spain and Poland coming later in 2027.  All such elections impact on us all these days.  

The class will look at issues such as the economy, the referendum process, electoral reform. There will be a focus on the day-to-day breaking stories as well as looking at the events behind the stories.

We will look at the governance structure in Ireland and the European Union and examine what makes them act the way they do. How do we influence events as a citizen? 

The world has become a smaller place.  It has also become a volatile and dangerous place where events in Iran have an impact on prices on supermarket shelves. While a war in Ukraine has entered its fifth year we see conflicts that people have anticipated would be over in weeks get to a stage it is hard how to see they can come to a conclusion. Two countries that are important to Ireland – the UK and the US have become somewhat unstable. 

Students will be encouraged to watch and listen to current affairs programmes and podcasts. They will be asked to read media articles and watch at “what makes the story of the day”?  We will look at new books and share information – no one can keep up with the very fast moving events of the world.

At the end of the course, you will not be an expert, but you will have more informed opinions and a sense that there are many sides to the one argument. The class will be expected to participate in debate and discussion. If at the end of the course you are not annoyed, angry engaged or even afraid and laughing the whole way through it – you will not have been listing to what is going on. This year is going to be a roller coaster.