Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure how we got from citizens' assemblies to the public services card and the minimum wage and all the way back again but I will do my best to answer as many questions as I can in the time allocated to me. When it comes to the proposed citizens' assembly, the model the Government has in mind is to follow the same process as we followed with regard to the Citizens' Assemblies on the eighth amendment and climate change. The assembly will sit and report, that report will be referred to an all-party Oireachtas committee specifically established to examine the recommendations of the citizens' assembly and the Government will respond to it. We will need the agreement and co-operation of the House to do that. Deputy Micheál Martin asked a very valid question about what we would do during a three to four-week election period - whether the assembly should sit or not. I am not sure whether it should sit but it is a pertinent question about which I will consult with officials. I will also consult with the chair of the Citizens' Assembly as to whether she thinks it is appropriate that the assembly should sit during that three to four-week period----

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