Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Tánaiste about the citizens' assembly and how the Government plans to proceed in that regard. She mentioned that the Government was going to bring forward a proposal to the Dáil for us to analyse. I particularly want to ask whether the very badly named citizens' assembly will include any non-citizen. If it is to work strictly off the electoral register, as the polling company has been asked to do, will it include a sizeable number of people who live and have status in this country, who are married to citizens but are not citizens themselves and whose numbers are significant? As the Tánaiste knows, the eighth amendment also affects non-citizens, given that it affects anyone living in the country. As one in four of my constituents is from outside Ireland, this is a serious issue. We must, therefore, have non-citizens in the assembly.

On the same issue, will the Government do something to insulate those in the assembly from pressure from groups? For example, we all know that there is a history of anti-abortion and other groups lobbying Deputies intensely which are very, let us we say, descriptive in some of the ways they deal with people. I am very anxious that those in the assembly be protected against this.

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