Dr. Aoibhinn N? Sh?illeabh?in:

I would like to come in on this. Something that citizens' assemblies have done really well in Ireland is to start the kitchen table conversations. That is really where the conversations need to happen. Yes, a lot happens on our main media, social media, online, etc., and obviously there is always a reticence to changing the status quo. Having those conversations at the kitchen table is really where minds get changed. I was very much reminded of that during the discussions in the plenary sessions of the citizens' assembly, where ten people were sitting around a table with absolutely differing views but managed to come to a consensus. It was really lovely to see. Not everybody agreed at the end of it either but it was a majority consensus. It was democracy at play. Citizens' assemblies start the kitchen table conversations.

I would like to remind everybody that the 99 members came to this way of thinking in ten months. All of those talks and resources are online at the citizens' assembly website. It is fabulous to go back and review them. I have done it a couple of times, looking at specific ten-minute and 15-minute talks, and there is a lot there. It is about having dialogue and conversations, which we do really well in Ireland.