Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

In the programme for a partnership Government, the Government has committed to establishing a citizens' assembly within six months and without participation by politicians, with a mandate to look at a limited number of key issues over an extended period. These issues will not be limited to those directly pertaining to the Constitution and may include issues such as, for example, how we as a nation best respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population.

The Government will ask the citizens' assembly to make recommendations to the Dáil on further constitutional changes, including on the eighth amendment, fixed-term Parliaments and the manner in which referenda are held, for example, whether super referendum days should be held, whereby a significant number referenda take place on the same day.

As regards the timeframe, the programme for a partnership Government states, as I have mentioned, that the assembly's mandate will be to look at a number of key issues over an extended period. This has not yet been defined, but clearly an issue such as the eighth amendment will take some time to consider fully.

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