
The backbench Government TDs and Opposition deputies being assigned €10,000 Oireachtas jobs
Government TDs will chair a total of 15 committees, with the rest divided up between opposition parties.
Fianna Fáil TD Erin McGreehan has been appointed the chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee for Further and Higher Education.
Longford TD Micheál Carrigy will chair the Committee on Housing, while Dún Laoghaire TD Barry Ward will chair the Committee on EU affairs.
The Social Democrats have also appointed their chairpersons, with Gary Gannon chairing the Committee on Drug Use and Pádraig Rice chairing the Committee on Health.
Meanwhile, Tipperary TD Alan Kelly will chair the Media, Arts and Culture Committee, which was at the centre of scrutinising the RTÉ payments scandal.
The rest of the committee chair roles are to be revealed in due course.
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The Journal
a day ago
- The Journal
Children deported this week are 'victims for a state wanting to look tough', Dublin TD says
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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
There's never been a better time for a left alliance - if they don't fall out first
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Andrea Horan: Why are flags on fingernails less valid than those in windows?
The other week, one of our clients in Tropical Popical (who happens to be a TD) was assigned the moniker Nailson Mandela for daring to use their nails as a platform to protest against the genocide that Israel continues to ravage upon Gaza. Whilst the label is a genius sardonic victory for sure, the underlying snideness behind it is clearly rooted in a misogyny that dismisses any female-led form of art or protest as frivolous, inferior and even distasteful. Sinead Gibney is currently a Social Democrats TD and was previously the Chief Commissioner and the inaugural Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Nobody could argue that she isn't extremely well versed and capable of utilising her channels to speak about the injustices that are taking place in the world. So why then would her statement of solidarity and support for Palestine be reduced to a cheap blow simply because one of the ways she communicates it is in the form of nail art? Repeal nails. 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During the Repeal campaign, the Guardian reported: "Nail bars may not be considered a hub of political activism but at Tropical Popical in Dublin, a wave of socially conscious beauty is spreading. One minute we're talking about pink glitter, the next we're discussing women's reproductive rights.' Repeal nails. Picture: Andrea Horan Like any political symbolism, nails provide a jumping off point to open conversations and build community around complex concepts that may feel too big to approach without a supportive prompt. The whole reason the Hunreal Issues - a campaign that aimed to make political issues relatable and accessible to a broader audience, particularly women, by removing elitism and snobbiness - was set up was to bring the message of Repeal to young women in spaces where they were naturally and authentically comfortable - the worlds of fashion, beauty, pop culture and music. 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When you try and separate art out into its different 'credible' forms and exclude some formats like nail art, we are led back to the age old question 'what is art?' and who gets to decide that anyway.' An opinion piece in this very publication mocked the use of nail art in the gallery to explore and highlight cultural phenomena such as the rich landscape of Irish fashion designers we have like Simone Rocha, Colin Horgan and Richard Malone; Thérèse Rafter's fine art photography and Jill & Gill's screen printing and wearable art as well as a mini Caravaggio recreation on the smallest canvas - a nail! - by saying that its inclusion opened the doors to ideas like 'Love Island in the Louvre'. Groups like Guerilla Girls, an anonymous New York-based group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world and beyond have been protesting and using guerilla exhibiting tactics to highlight the lack of representation of female artists in museums and galleries around the world with popular works including 'Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum, 1989.' Unfortunately, until attitudes change and the snideness towards female art forms and interests is gone, they won't be quitting their endeavours anytime soon. Read More Irish designer Simone Rocha shows her rebellious side at London Fashion Week