Thomas Togher

In my penultimate year of study I was elated to receive an internship offer from Senator Emer Currie. Internship roles were highly competitive and to be chosen from all the students in my class to serve as her parliamentary assistant for six months was a superb opportunity.

Emer Currie was then a senator in the lower house of Irish parliament so to be in an environment in which new legislature was being debated and put in motion a weekly basis was wondrous.

Emer Currie is an intelligent and compassionate politician who was a pleasure to work under and it came as no surprise when she was recently elected as a member of Irish parliament recently (TD). She comes from strong political stock as her father Austin Currie was a leader in the norther Ireland civil rights activism and one of the founder of the Social Democratic Labour Party in Northern Ireland. He is often heralded as one of the most prominent figures in implementing a peace process in Northern Ireland. Working under the tutelage of Emer Currie provided multitudes of insight into the inner working of public office in Ireland. Below will detail some of my duties and roles as a parliamentary assistant.

• Recorded detailed notes of all speakers when the senate met and relay this back to Senator Currie.
• Summarised all major news stories both nationally and internationally on a daily basis.
• First point of contact between Senator Currie and her constituents, would receive upwards of fifty emails per day on a broad scope of issues, all emails would have to be actioned and replied to in a timely manner.
• Provided in-depth research on any topic needed for parliamentary meetings. Research spanned from remote working legislation across Europe to Forestry and wildlife protection policies.
• Attended meetings with the Mexican ambassador to Ireland, EU delegates, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and former Taoiseach Simon Harris along with a host of other departmental consultations. I was invited to take part in discussions and present my own viewpoints as all participants seemed eager to engage with a younger audience.
• Took control over Senator Currie's social media accounts and was successful in boosting both engagement and follower count. Tasks include designing promotional pictures, running ads, editing videos and recording content.