Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I come from a strong education background and I believe strongly in educational equality and inclusiveness. I am a fan of the Citizens' Assembly and I will be hugely supportive of a citizens' assembly on the future of education because I believe in the democracy that it will represent. The terms of reference for the education Citizens' Assembly will be set out in the Oireachtas resolution establishing it. This will be informed by the views of all the relevant partners. That is fair and as it should be. Based on previous assemblies, the Citizens' Assembly on the future of education could be wide ranging, including constitutional issues, or it could focus on very specific areas of interest. Consultation informing the Oireachtas resolution could also consider whether the focus of the assembly should cover learning from cradle to grave or the primary and post-primary sectors. The other Citizens' Assemblies have considered constitutional provisions in relevant areas and a similar approach could be adopted for an education assembly. Other sources for topics could include the range of education-related commitments in the programme for Government, many of which are likely to generate considerable public interest and could benefit from debate in a citizens' assembly forum. It is worth noting that any such discussion in an assembly will complement rather than replace existing and extensive partner engagement fora in the sector. These include the work of the inspectorate and listening to the views of pupils, the primary education forum, industrial relations engagement mechanisms and our work with partners in responding to the pandemic.

See this speech in context