Transition Year work placements in The Irish Times have all been filled for this school year. There's a £20 book token on offer for each student whose submission is published in Media Scope's weekly Over to You
St Macartan's College, Monaghan
There has been a tremendous influx of refugees into Ireland since the Celtic Tiger began to roar. This is a total contrast to years gone by, when thousands flocked across the Atlantic and the Irish Sea to pastures green in search of employment and a better standard of living.
These Irish immigrants had to deal with a large amount of racism towards them. It is ironic now how we as a nation are quite willing to dish out racist vibes and remarks at the immigrants who in some cases have come here to seek refuge from horrible wars, cruelty and poverty in their home nations. I cringe when I hear stories of violence been inflicted on people simply because of the race or the colour of their skin.
Personally I believe that this influx is not necessarily a bad thing, as some of the immigrants are skilled workers. Also, and in time (I stress), it will lead to the Irish people becoming more accepting and understanding to people of all racial denominations worldwide.
Kevin Croke, Kinsale Community School, Co Cork
We all know the unacceptable conditions that workers endure in sweatshops, but how many of us take time to think how EPZs (Export Processing Zones, home to the sweatshops) so far from home can affect us in Ireland?
Western economies require minimum wages, safety levels and a certain amount of workers' rights. A company here must also pay income tax, property tax, export tax and a tax on profit. EPZs, on the other hand, are found generally in developing countries hungry for foreign investment and a place in the global market. These countries must pay the entrance fee into the global economy, by discarding company taxes, their workers' rights and safety levels that might hinder the multinationals' profit-taking.
Ultimately, this makes countries such as Taiwan and China, which encourage EPZs, the primary choice for multinational companies, because running-costs can be halved and profits dramatically increased. The danger for us is that the companies on which Ireland's apparently robust economy depends will just retire to one of the many EPZs, leaving many thousands unemployed.
Write to media scope by posting your comments to Newspaper in the Classroom, The Irish Times, 1116 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2, or faxing them to (01) 679 2789. Be sure to include your name, address and school, plus phone numbers for home and school. Or you can use the Internet and e-mail us at mediapage@irishtimes.ie
media scope is a weekly media studies page for use in schools.
Faxback: Worksheets and other materials are available to teachers who place group orders through their schools. The worksheets are sent to all subscribing schools via the automatic faxback system. This system will re-try an engaged line up to four times.
If you do not receive material by Wednesday morning, and you have a touchtone fax machine, please use it to dial (01) 670 9709. Follow the recorded instructions and material will be faxed to your machine. If you have a pulse-dialling machine, refer to your fax manual for details on how to set it for touchtone dialling. If you have problems, telephone (01) 679 2022, ext 8568 or 8580.
For group orders, FREEPHONE 1-800-798884.
