UCC Young Fine Gael Society

Newsletter Date Issue 3, January 2012

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Issue 3, January 2012

The 25th Young Fine Gael conference

will take place from the 17th to the

19th of February 2012 and UCC YFG

will be there in force. This conference is

held every 18 months and is used to elect

our National Executive. There are ten peo-

ple on this panel and UCC is proud to have

several members serving this term. We

expect some of our branch to be nominat-

ed and once again elected. The conference

will also contain motions to be debated,

constitutional amendments and a social

gathering each evening.

The conference this year is being held in

the glamorous, Bridge House Hotel, Tulla-

more, Co. Offaly. The weekend includes

two nights four star accommodation, a

ticket to the gala banquet dinner with An

Taoiseach Enda Kenny along with covering

transport to and from the venue.

The branch policy committee will meet

after Christmas to form motions based on

our debates earlier this year for submission

and debate at the conference. Any mem-

bers wishing to help out this committee,

just email us at yfg@uccsocieties.ie

Hustings of candidates running for election

will be held on Wednesday 15th of Feb-

ruary in the Council Chambers, North

Wing at 8pm.

Continued on Page 3 >>

Tullamore: A YFG Conference

for Change!

UCC YFG, Get Involved this January!

www.ucc.ie/yfg

www.facebook.com/uccyoungfinegael

Winter/Spring Newsletter

Issue 3, January 2012

With so much happening in Irish poli-

tics there has never been a better time

to get involved in UCC YFG. Over the

course of this term we have many

great debates, socials, guest speak-

ers & trips planned which will ensure

that you will make the most of your

time in UCC. Our first meeting of the

New Year will take place on

Wednesday January 4th at

7.30 pm in the Student Centre,

Second floor with a debate on

the consequences of the recent

ruling on Irish Abortion

Continued from Page 1—

from the European Court

of Human rights. Lots of

other topical issues will be

debated as part of our

weekly meetings.

We will also host various

debates on campus as

well as continuing with

our Speaker Development

sessions early in the New

Year to help you improve

your public speaking and

debating skills.

A Mystery Tour will take

place in mid January as

well as a fresh recruit-

ment drive.

Senior Fine Gael politi-

cians including Agricul-

ture Minister Simon

Coveney & Europe Minis-

ter Lucinda Creighton will

visit campus and mem-

bers will be given the

opportunity to question

them personally on topics

such as the financial diffi-

culties facing the country

& also in relation to the

ever-changing European

political climate.

YFG will have

an unrivalled

line up of social

events over

the term so be

sure to come

along and learn

more!

For full details

on our events

follow us on

facebook or

visit us online

at www.ucc.ie/

yfg

Burke and Deputies Dara

Murphy, Deirdre Clune &

Jerry Buttimer. Later in

the day members visited

the Dáil Bar to meet Sen-

ior Ministers, before at-

tending a social with

some Dublin YFG mem-

bers that night.

Last January a group of

ten UCC members trav-

elled to Brussels with

Sean Kelly MEP to visit

the European Parliament

& Commission to gain a

understanding of the

At the start of December,

UCC YFG members

braved artic conditions to

go on the society’s annu-

al Dáil Trip just days be-

fore Budget 2012

A tour of the building was

given including the Dáil &

Seanad Chamber and

then members had an

opportunity to listen to

some debates from the

public gallery.

Private meetings were

had with Sen. Colm

work of these European

institutions. The trip in-

cluded cultural visits to

Brussels City and the

medieval city of Bruges

along with a few bars!

Another trip is of course

in the pipeline!

This trip follows a visit to

the Northern Ireland par-

liament in Stormount last

year with more similar

trips been planned in the

future.

UCC YFG - Get Involved this January Cont ..

UCC YFG Dáil & European Parliament Trip

Model Dáil Success All motions ended in fa-

vour of the Government,

who on the night had a

huge majority.

Afterwards, a great night

was had by all, which

didn’t end for days for

some people!

Future YFG debates in-

clude Abortion, Our role

in Europe and a proposal

to end the welfare state.

All are welcome!

The Model Dáil took place

between the political

societies in UCC in No-

vember.

The debate this year was

as exciting and entertain-

ing as ever and were

chaired by the Lord

Mayor of Cork City.

Motions debated included

Mandatory Reporting

Legislation, Mortgage

renegotiation and finally

a motion of no confidence

in the Government by the

opposition.

Check out ucc.ie/yfg for all our

latest events... Get Involved with

UCC YFG Today!

Page 2 UCC Young Fine Gael Society

From Page 1— The Satur-

day prime time session will

include analysis and opinion

from national economists

and journalists.

The afternoon session will

include speeches from Min-

isters, An Taoiseach and

outgoing YFG President Eric

Keane.

This conference is an event

not to be missed for all YFG

members! Email us now at

yfg@uccsocieties.ie to book

your place!

It’s important to ensure that

you and your family and friends

are correctly entered on the

electoral register in order to

vote in the general election.

Remember that currently no-

body is automatically placed on

the register when they turn 18!

You can check the register

online by going to

www.checktheregister.ie. If you

are currently not on the regis-

ter, you can apply to join the

supplementary register up to

15 days before polls open in

either your home constituency

or your college constituency if

you will be unable to travel

home and vote. Forms are

available from the relevant

local authority. We will also be

running a campus campaign in

the January where forms will

be available. If you have any

questions on voting registra-

tion please contact us at

yfg@uccsocieties.ie

Tullamore 2012 Cont...

Make Sure Your Voice is heard, Check the Register!

Fine Gael Ard Fheis 2012!

YFG, will as always meet

each evening to discuss the

coming 12 months and pro-

pose our own alternatives.

Each night YFG members will

party until the late hours,

visiting all the local hot-

spots with fellow members

from across Ireland.

Over the last few years, the

main topics and themes for

the conference have been

the economy and jobs. We

can expect nothing different

this year, with new and ex-

citing debates on plans for

job creation, cost saving

measures, education, health

and transport to name but

a few. YFG, as the youth

wing of the party always

plays a significant role in

the weekend, with semi-

nars and workshops tak-

ing place throughout the

weekend. YFG will, as

expected, be vocal on

areas that we feel the

Government can improve

on, while commending

where reforms have taken

place. This is the main

avenue of communication

for ordinary YFG members

while in Government.

The Fine Gael Ard Fheis

is set to take place this

March and naturally this

is a big event in the YFG

calendar. This will be

the Fine Gael party’s

first conference since

being elected into Gov-

ernment since the elec-

tion last February. This

is an excellent weekend

to meet YFG members

from across the country

along with key Front

Bench politicians & Min-

isters. The conference

will culminate with the

key note live speech, on

the Saturday night, by

party leader An Taoi-

seach, Enda Kenny.

YFG is not about

condemning the

Government. It’s

about Finding

Solutions to the

Problems this country

faces, debating the

alternatives and

advocating a change

for the better.

BE PART OF THIS

MOVEMENT…

JOIN YFG

Page 3 Issue 3, January 2012

UCC YFG is the largest and most active political society

on campus. We always welcome new members.

Joining UCC YFG gives you an opportunity to get more

out of your time in UCC. You get to meet new people

from various faculties across UCC as well as attending

our regular social nights, branch debate nights and visits

to locations such as Dáil Eireann and Stormount.

You can meet first hand many senior Fine Gael politicians

through attending conferences as well as contributing

towards YFG Policy Development.

Sign up on www.ucc.ie/yfg today or just come along to

any of our events on campus and you will see why we

continue to attract large numbers each and every year

on campus. See you in January!

Regards,

Tadhg O’Donovan

Auditor, 34th Session of UCC YFG

Get Involved!

“We do not govern to rule, we govern to serve.” - Gen Michael Collins

UCC YFG 2011/2012...