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Referendum 2015
- 1.
- 2. What is democracy? Democracymeans, ‘rule by the people’ This is the opposite of a monarchy where a King or Queen rules.
- 3. The Government Wehave to choose people (politicians) to represent us in the government. We choose politicians we believe will make the best decisions for us. Everyone votes for their favourite and the parties with the most votes, form the government.
- 4. Just like ourStudent Council How do the student council help us??
- 5. Important changes forour country. Sometimes decisions are too important for other people to make for us. We have to think about the pros and cons ourselves.
- 6. Referendum When thishappens we must all have our say on how we feel about the topic. We vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the topic. This is the fairest way to make a decision. This is called a referendum.
- 7. Right to Vote Everyone has the right to vote in Ireland from the age of 18. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion on a matter. Everyone’s vote is private and they may not want to tell you what they are voting. If you do not agree with them, it is not fair to be disrespectful to them because of this.
- 8. What is happeningon May 22nd? This Friday, May 22nd, the people of Ireland will vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on two very important questions.
- 9. What is happeningon May 22nd? When all of the votes have been counted, changes will be made to our constitution. The constitution is Ireland’s set of rules that we live by and a record of what our rights are.
- 10. Question 1 –The President’s age In this referendum question, you may vote ‘yes ‘or ‘no’ on reducing the age in which someone can be president of Ireland from 35 to 21. That means once someone is 21 they can campaign to become the president of Ireland.
- 11. What does thepresident do? The president works alongside the government and has many powers and functions, some include; He is in charge of the defence forces. He appoints people to important jobs within government like the Taoiseach. He represents Ireland all over the world. He signs important bills into law. Michael D. Higgins
- 12. Past Presidents andtheir ages Douglas Hide (1938 – 1945) 78 years old. Eamon DeValera (1959 – 1973) 76years old. Patrick J Hillery(1976 – 1990) 56 years old. Mary Robinson (1990 – 1997) 46 years old. Mary McAleese (1997 – 2011) 46 years old. Michael D Higgins ((2011 – Present) 70 years old.
- 13. What do youthink the pros and cons might be to this change in our constitution?? Pros Cons
- 14. Question 2 -Marriage In this question you may vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to change the law that will mean two people can marry each other regardless of their gender. This will mean that 2 men, 2 women or a man and a woman can get married and have a family.
- 15. Yes Campaign Argue… ‘Everyone should have the right to marry regardless of gender.’ ‘Everyone should be seen as equals within the constitution.’ ‘The referendum will not affect anyone else’s marriage if passed.’ ‘A ‘yes’ vote will not affect children.’ (www.yesequality.ie)
- 16. No Campaign argue… ‘We should not change the definition of marriage – that of a man and a woman.’ ‘Changing the meaning of marriage will have consequences for children, education, laws, religious beliefs and freedom of speech.’ ‘Every child should have the right to a mother and father.’ ‘Civil partnership is a way to show commitment.’ (www.#keepmarriage.com)
- 17. What do youthink the pros and cons might be to this change in our constitution?? Pros Cons
- 18. Want to researchmore?? Information for this presentation was sourced from the following websites. - www.refcom2015.ie - http://www.president.ie/ - www.yesequality.ie - http://keepmarriage.org/reasons-to-vote- no-irish-marriage-referendum.html - http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/constitutio n.html