Mr. Francis Gallagher:

I do not know if I am able to answer the question exactly but I agree with Senator McDowell who made a few excellent points. The malaise affecting people now across the whole island, probably more so than anything else, is that they feel alienated from representative democracy. They feel they do not have any say in the major decisions that affect their future. The question was asked about what could be done in the North or even in the South. I would encourage a movement towards a more participative-style democracy where people can influence the decisions where they live and work. I think this is the way the future of democracy has to go. For example, what the Government in the Irish Republic could do is work towards that type of governmental system where people have more of a say in the decisions that affect their well-being. I know people can vote through representative democracy, but what does that mean to somebody whose local hospital is being closed down in Monaghan? It does not mean much to him or her. In Northern Ireland, what does that mean to people in Newry and Downpatrick whose local hospital is being run down? The way to do that is to have citizens' conventions in each major town throughout the whole island. The difficulty is that the unionist people may not take part in that, so we may have to confine the debate in the North to reforming the institutions in Northern Ireland. For example, one point that could be done right away relates to the idea of a First Minister. This encourages a rush to the bottom because then people are vying for position to see who can get the First Minister post. The reality, according to my knowledge, is that the First Minister and deputy First Minister positions are equal. It would be a great step forward in the North of Ireland if the posts were designated as equal. I do not know if that answers the question, but the idea to keep in mind is that instead of a referendum there is a preferendum, so that when people vote from one to four, they might not get their first choice but they might get their second choice. That way we are building consensus. That would be a useful mechanism for the citizens' assemblies. A preferendum is very good instead of a binary referendum because it builds consensus.