RTÉ NEWS anchor Bryan Dobson was clearly impressed by the standard of questions asked of leading politicians at a debate he chaired at St MacDara’s Community College, Templeogue, Dublin.
Pupils quizzed Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, Green Party leader John Gormley, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and others about the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and education cutbacks.
“I was just wondering, do you speak of little else at lunchtime here. ‘What do you think of Nama?’ Is it a topic of conversation here?” Dobson asked.
It clearly was. A first-year complained: “Half the people I know don’t know what Nama is. Why aren’t you explaining it properly?” Another wondered: “Was Nama established to help us or the bankers?” Directing some of the pupils’ queries towards Mr Gormley, Dobson said the Green leader might be asked similar questions by party members at the weekend.
“I believed firmly that Nama can and will work,” Mr Gormley insisted.
He went on to suggest some homework: “When you hear about Nama, look at the fine detail, look at the small print.”
All the public representatives were wearing the politician’s uniform of a dark suit and colourful tie, except for the Socialist MEP for Dublin Joe Higgins, who wore an open-necked shirt and corduroy jacket. Mr Higgins said he’d travelled from Brussels especially for the event.
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and Fine Gael’s education spokesman Brian Hayes, who is a local TD, also participated.
The event was organised as part of the school’s political awareness week, and the hundreds of students who attended certainly seemed engaged with current events.
This was despite the politicians’ insistence on delivering ancient history lessons with frequent references to events in the 1980s – before any of the pupils were born.
