Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The details on the Citizens' Assembly are due to be announced shortly and the detail underpinning that Estimate will be more evident at that point. I will go through it. As the Chairman knows, the current Citizens' Assembly on gender equality was established in January 2020. Prior to Covid-19, it was expected to conclude its work in summer 2020 and it held its final meetings on 17 and 18 April, including voting. The Citizens' Assembly published its results on the 45 key recommendations recently.

Under the programme for Government, the Government aims to establish a citizens' assembly this year to consider the type of directly elected mayor and local Government structures best suited for Dublin. This citizens' assembly could be established shortly with a new chairperson and new members following completion of the current Citizens' Assembly.

The programme for Government also provides for the establishment of citizens' assemblies to consider matters relating to biodiversity, drug use and the future of education. The timing of these future citizens' assemblies is under consideration, as are the format and methodology they might take. Any decision will be guided by the experience of the current Citizens' Assembly and the evaluation of the independent researcher who has been appointed to monitor and record, among other things, the perceived deliberative quality of the Citizens' Assembly. As I said, there will be further detail on those shortly.