Democracy second year Flashcards
What is democracy?
A form of government that lets the citizens of a country have a say on the changes by the government. These citizens have many rights and freedoms.
What is representative democracy?
Where the citizens elect representatives to run things on their behalf.
What is majority rule and minority rule
This means that decisions are made by the majority agreement but the rights and freedoms of the minority are respected, and their voices are heard.
What is authoritarian rule?
Authoritarian rule is a form of rulership where citizens don’t possess the freedoms or rights that citizens under democratic rule have.
breakdown of the dail
43 constituencies, 166 TDs
Functions of the Dáil.
Make and pass new laws,
advise government,
debate issues,
make decisions on behalf of Irish citizens.
What is the Ceann Comhairle?
They ensure that order is maintained during dáil debates.
TD - responsibilities
The TD represent the interests of people living in their constituencies. They can make and pass new laws.
The Seanad - senators, main functions.
60 senators,
Functions:
consider and review bills
propose new laws
who elects the seanad?
6 senators elected by universities
11 by taoiseach
43 elected from five panels.
The government - functions
Run the affairs of the state make new laws manage economy manage social affairs plan for the future forge links with other countries
Different parts of the government
Government
An taoiseach
An tanaiste, the ministers, attorney general.
What is The Cabinet?
The cabinet is the taoiseach, the tanaiste and principal government ministers.
What is collective responsibility?
Collective responsibility is where the members of the cabinet must speak with one voice and must stand together on all policy matters.
Functions of the Taoiseach
Provides leadership Controls government business Chairs cabinet meetings Nominates senators Defends government decisions
What is the tanaiste?
The tanaiste is the deputy prime minister. They hold a cabinet post and act as head of government when taoiseach is out of the country.
Who are the ministers of the most important departments?
Finance- Michael Noonan
Social and family affairs- Joan Burton
Health and children- Leo Varadkar
Education and science- Jan O’Sullivan
Justice, equality and law reform- Frances Fitzgerald
Departments in the government
Finance-
Social and family affairs-
Health and children-
Education and science-
Justice, equality and law reform-
Function of the attorney general
Member of the cabinet, acts as the chief legal advisor to the government.
Interest groups
Protects the interests of memebers and campaign on their behalf. Eg. trade unions and irish farmers association.
Pressure groups
Put pressure on the government to support their cause. Eg. greenpeace and amnesty international.
Petitions
The collecting of signatures from people concerned about a certain issue. These are presented to members of the government.
Lobbying
Putting pressure on the government by letter-writing campaigns, meetings, getting media attention.
Ways of influencing the government.
Petitions
Lobbying
Protesting
Strikes
Political parties
The ‘hub’ of democracy. Each party has a different idea about how the country should be run.
political parties’ leaders.
Fianna fáil - Micheál Martin
Fine gael - Enda Kenny
Labour - Joan Burton
Sinn fein - Gerry Adams
Green party - Eamon Ryan
What is voting
The means in which citizens are given the opportunity to choose representatives or give opinion to a proposed change.
Who can vote?
Irish citizens over the age of 18 with their name on the electoral register.
What is the electoral register?
A list of all Irish citizens eligible to vote.
Why not vote?
Indifference Disinterest Lack of knowledge Feel unrepresented Don't like any parties/candidates
What is proportional representation?
system of voting in Ireland, called this because number of votes seats a party wins is in proportion to the number of votes it receives.
Polling card
Card with those eligible to vote’s name and address.
Polling clerk
Person who puts a mark against the voter’s name on the electoral register.
Ballot paper
Paper which has the names of the candidates for the election.
Secret ballot
This means the voter indicates their preference in private when voting.
Ballot box
Where the ballot paper is put into.
Returning officer
Person who supervises the counting of votes.
Spoiled votes
A ballot paper that has been incorrectly filled out.
Tellers
People responsible for sorting the votes for each candidate.
Local government/authorities
Responsible for providing essential services to people who live in the locality. Ireland is divided into 114 local authorities.
Function of local authorities
Housing and building
Environmental protection
Road transport
Safety
Water supply and sewage
Councillors
Serve the needs of a local community.
County manager
Oversees the day-to-day running of a local authority.
Elections - what elections do people get to vote in?
Local elections By-elections General elections Presidential elections European elections Referendums
What is a by-election?
Takes place when a dail seat becomes vacant.
The function of The Civil Service.
Advise government on policy
Prepare and draft new legislation
Helps government run the country.
Quota formula example
Total number of votes (eg. 45,000)
minus number of spoiled votes (eg. 450)
= 44,550.
Quota =
44500
divided by
(4 + 1)
= 8910
= 8910 + 1
= 8911
Quota formula
Total number of valid poll
—————————– + 1
number of seas + 1
