Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised)
2:00 am
The Taoiseach:
The Deputy is correct that provision has not been made for citizens' assemblies this year. On education, we envisage a national convention-type approach. This is different from the model of a citizens' assembly. The Deputy might recall a similar national convention on education being convened by the then Minister for Education, the late Niamh Bhreathnach, in the mid-1990s. I happened to be the Opposition spokesperson at that time. The Minister agrees with the programme for Government commitment to create a national conversation on education more generally, in which stakeholders could engage. It is a better model in terms of public representatives and stakeholders involved in education all contributing.
No comments