Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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296. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department offers senior cycle students talks or workshops from election registration teams about the election voting process, to ensure that children aged 16 are informed of their rights to register to vote; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40165/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am advised that, as part of its work under the Electoral Reform Act 2022, an Coimisiún Toghcháin delivers educational and information programmes to promote public awareness of, and participation in, the State’s electoral and democratic processes and encourage the public to vote at electoral events. My Department is working with An Coimisiún Toghcháin, as a member of its Education and Public Engagement Strategy’s formal education working group. The aims of this strategy include helping engage students in the democratic processes with the aim of encouraging them to register and begin voting as soon as they reach the age of 18.

The Deputy  may also wish to note that democracy and the democratic process feature in the curriculum in Irish schools through a number of avenues. Aistear, the curriculum for Early Years, is based on twelve principles for early learning and development, one of which is citizenship. It promotes the concept of citizenship and social justice with children and respects them as young citizens. The Blue Star Programme teaches primary school pupils about European cultures and the EU through creative activities and projects which complement the national primary curriculum, with the aim of fostering a better understanding and knowledge of Europe and how it affects the lives of Irish citizens among Irish primary pupils in a curriculum-friendly manner.

At Junior Cycle, the short course in Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) focuses on supporting students in become active citizens through their learning in three strands: rights and responsibilities, global citizenship, and exploring democracy. The learning outcomes of the ‘Exploring democracy’ strand include that students should be able to “describe democratic structures for decision-making at local and national government levels”, to “use the correct terminology to describe Irish and European democratic institutions, structures, political parties and roles”, to “explain how laws are made, enforced and evolve over time”, and to “explore the role of different media in generating information and news and assess the pros and cons of each”.

Leaving Certificate Politics and Society was introduced in 2016 and first examined in 2018. This specification aims to develop students’ capacity to engage in reflective and active citizenship, informed by the insights and skills of social and political sciences. The content of this specification supports the development of an understanding of equality, inequality and diversity in a range of areas of human life, including gender, ethnicity and social class. In this way, Politics and Society can contribute to the development of active and participatory citizenship through education.