Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

approves the calling of a Citizens’ Assembly to consider the following matters and to make such recommendations as it sees fit and report to the Houses of the Oireachtas:(i) the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution;

(ii) how we best respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population;

(iii) fixed term parliaments; and

(iv) the manner in which referenda are held;and

notes that:

— membership of the Assembly will consist of 100 persons as follows:— a Chairperson to be appointed by the Government; and

— 99 citizens entitled to vote at a referendum, randomly selected so as to be broadly representative of Irish society;— substitutes may be appointed subject to the selection criteria above, who will be entitled to contribute to the proceedings and vote in their own name;

— the Assembly will agree its own rules of procedure for the effective conduct of its business in as economical a manner as possible;

— the Assembly will first make a report and recommendation on the matter set out at (i) above to the Houses of the Oireachtas, which on receipt will refer the report for consideration to a Committee of both Houses which will in turn bring its conclusions to the Houses for debate;

— the Assembly will report and make recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas on each remaining matter as soon as it has completed its deliberations, but in any event not later than one year from the date of the first Assembly meeting;

— the Assembly will also be asked to consider such other matters as may be referred to it;

— an Expert Advisory Group will be established to assist the work of the Assembly in terms of preparing information and advice;

— the Assembly may invite and accept submissions from interested bodies and will seek such expert advice as it considers desirable;

— all matters before the Assembly will be determined by a majority of the votes of members present and voting, other than the Chairperson who will have a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes; and

— the Government will provide in the Houses of the Oireachtas a response to each recommendation of the Assembly and, if accepting the recommendation, will indicate the timeframe it envisages for the holding of any related referendum.

The resolution before the House today fulfils the Government’s promise in A Programme for a Partnership Government to establish a citizens’ assembly with a mandate to look at a limited number of key issues over an extended time period. The programme states, "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." That said, we will ask the citizens' assembly to make recommendations to the Dáil on further constitutional changes, including on the eighth amendment, on fixed-term parliaments and on the manner in which referenda are held, for example, whether super referendum days, whereby a significant number of referenda take place on the same day, should be held.

The assembly follows the success of the Convention on the Constitution. This was an important and imaginative step never tried before in Ireland and the previous Government accepted a number of significant recommendations made by the convention, for example, that the Ceann Comhairle be elected by secret ballot, that provision be made for the proportionate allocation of committee chairs using the d'Hondt system and that an electoral commission be established. Most significant of all, on foot of the convention's recommendations to the previous Government, on Friday, 22 May 2015, two referendums were held on the age threshold for candidates in presidential elections and on marriage equality. As the House is aware, the referendum on marriage equality was passed by a decisive majority. This was the first time that a proposal for constitutional change put forward by the Constitutional Convention resulted in actual constitutional change. It was also the first time that marriage equality was carried by popular vote anywhere in the world.

Like the convention, the citizens’ assembly will be independent of Government. As with the convention, resolutions of both Houses of the Oireachtas will approve its establishment and it will report back directly to the Oireachtas. The resolution before the House today is closely modelled on the resolution approving establishment of the convention.

The assembly will comprise 99 citizens and an independent chairperson. A polling company will be engaged to select 99 people on the electoral register to be members of the assembly. They will be randomly selected to be broadly representative of the electorate as a whole. Politicians will not be members of the assembly. This to allow for as broad a representation as possible from the public. The citizens will have ownership of the process and I would strongly urge anyone who is contacted to take the opportunity to participate in this initiative. They should not be afraid of that phone call when it comes. It would be a very interesting experience and all of us who served on the convention would recognise that it was a worthwhile experience. Politicians will of course have the opportunity to consider and respond to the assembly’s recommendations when the assembly’s reports are debated in the House.

As Deputies will be aware, legislation - the Electoral (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2016 - will be required to permit the electoral register to be used in the selection process and that legislation will be brought before the House this week and perhaps even tonight if we get a chance to progress it.

The chairperson will be independent and, as in the case of the Convention on the Constitution, will be pivotal to the success of the assembly.The Taoiseach has already promised in the House to consult the Government and Opposition leaders about potential candidates for chairperson.

As I have outlined, the topics which the assembly will consider, as detailed in A Programme for a Partnership Government, are set out in the resolution. The citizens’ assembly will be asked to consider the eighth amendment of the Constitution, how we best respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population, fixed-term parliaments, and the manner in which referenda are held. The assembly will also be asked to consider such other matters as may be referred to it.

Given its importance, the resolution sets out that the first item the assembly will consider is the eighth amendment of the Constitution. When completed, the assembly’s report on the eighth amendment will be sent to an Oireachtas committee, which in turn will bring its conclusions to the Houses for debate.

It is intended that the assembly will be established by October. The resolution gives it a 12-month deadline from its establishment to complete all its work and submit its reports.

It is presumed the assembly members will wish to have expert advice available to them about their work. For this purpose, an expert advisory group will be established to assist the work of the assembly. The composition of this group will be a matter for the chair of the assembly. The use of such experts was a key feature of the way the Convention on the Constitution did its work. The expert group’s membership may of course change at different stages of the assembly process to reflect the particular issue under consideration.

The chairperson and other members of the assembly will no doubt be anxious to hear from a broad spectrum of opinion in carrying out their work. As with the convention, interest groups can be invited, at the discretion of the chair, to present their views when topics relevant to them are being discussed. They, and indeed the general public, will of course be able to make written submissions for consideration by the assembly.

The Government will provide in the Oireachtas a response to each recommendation of the assembly. We will arrange for a debate in the Oireachtas in each case and, in the event that the Government accepts a recommendation that the Constitution be amended, the Government’s public response will include a timeframe for the holding of any such referendum.

This assembly will belong to the citizens, it will be an opportunity for a broad spectrum of society to reflect and report on a number of key issues. I commend this resolution to the House. I am sure the House will join me in wishing the assembly well in its work.

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