A Fine Gael TD has called for schools to foster a “sense of dual identity” among young people as both Irish and European through greater education about the European Union.
The comments were made by Fine Gael TD Barry Ward, who chairs the Joint Oireachtas Committee on EU Affairs, following the publication of a new European Movement Ireland survey on public attitudes towards the EU.
Ward said he believed classrooms should play a greater role in teaching students about the European Union and encouraging engagement with European institutions.
“If we want the next generation to shape the future of Europe, we need to start in the classroom,” he said.
“That can mean improved education around the EU institutions, but it can also mean fostering a sense of dual identity – we are proudly Irish, but are also Europeans, and what happens in Europe matters to us in Ireland.”
The Fine Gael TD said there was a need for what he described as an “education campaign” to demonstrate how EU membership affects daily life in Ireland and to improve understanding of how decisions are made at European level.
According to the survey, 35% of respondents said they believed their views were adequately represented at European level, while 37% disagreed and 27% said they were unsure.
Ward said those figures showed there was more work to do in encouraging engagement with the EU, particularly among younger people.
“We cannot expect people – particularly young people – to engage with Europe, whether that’s voting, working, or studying abroad, if we don’t properly equip them with an understanding how decisions are made or how they can influence and benefit them,” he said.
He also argued that many people do not see how decisions made in Brussels affect issues within Ireland.
“But a lot of people don’t see how decisions made in Europe impact their day-to-day lives on matters close to home and that needs to be addressed,” Ward said.
“The decision-making processes in Europe can be complicated, and I think we need to better educate people as to how the EU operates and why it matters.”
The proposal drew criticism from Independent TD Carol Nolan, who said it would amount to little more than “indoctrination” by “missionaries of the EU”.
“I wouldn’t trust this proposal as far as I could throw it,” she said, adding that EU’s Christian history would likely be omitted from the education plan and replaced with an “EDI [equality, diversity and integration] inspired portrait of the EU that would be as nauseating as it would be inaccurate.”
The comments come amid wider political debate over the role of social and political advocacy within the Irish education system.
As reported by Gript in May 2025, Tánaiste Simon Harris defended the inclusion of climate activism-related material in schools, saying it was “a good thing” for young people to become “active citizens”.
Speaking outside Government Buildings at the time, Harris said: “I think encouraging the next generation to be active citizens, to actively be able to have their voice heard on issues, is a good thing.”
Children’s Minister Norma Foley also defended the approach in comments to Gript last year, praising students involved in climate advocacy.
“There is no one better at encouraging wider society to be more climate conscious than young people,” Foley said.
The new Leaving Certificate subject Climate Action and Sustainable Development aims to encourage students to become activists on climate-related issues and develop “a realistic and hopeful perspective on the nature of action”.
Sample examination papers published by the State Examinations Commission included topics such as “environmental racism”, “climate injustice”, “climate disinformation”, colonialism, lobbying, and civil disobedience.
‘Climate Action and Sustainable Development’ sample Leaving Cert exams reveal radical course content