Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, on behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the establishment of these two citizens' assemblies. We are glad to see this being carried out, but we are also anxious to see progress being made on the citizens' assemblies on drugs and on the future of education. Indeed, my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, has been to the fore in seeking clear indications from the Government and particularly the Taoiseach on the timeline for the establishment of a citizens' assembly on drugs. We know what a serious and severe problem drug addiction and the current policies for dealing with drug addiction have created. The Government could look to save lives by kick-starting the process of convening a citizens' assembly on drugs. We want urgent work to be done on that, and on the citizens' assembly on the future of education.

In my role as Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality, I appreciate the enormous engagement and the massive levels of commitment that citizens have given to assemblies over the years. In particular, I pay tribute to the citizens who were involved in the citizens' assembly on gender equality, chaired by Dr. Catherine Day, which gave rise to such an impressive report with 45 recommendations, effectively a blueprint for achieving gender equality in Ireland. I look forward to working cross-party with colleagues on ensuring that the blueprint is implemented through our work in the committee. We will commence our public hearings next week, but we have already been involved in a great deal of work.

I am mindful, however, of the point made forcefully by both Professor David Farrell and Ms Ursula Quill in thejournal.ierecently that there needs to be a clear impact from a citizens' assembly. The recommendations of citizens' assemblies have to be implemented. Citizens who engage and give their time and commitment so willingly have to see that what they have recommended is taken up and moves issues further, as we saw with the Convention on the Constitution, which I was privileged to be part of, and the referendum on marriage equality and the referendum on the eighth amendment, which again followed a citizens' assembly. There must be meaningful engagement by the Government. Indeed, I asked the Taoiseach to commit to that last week in the context of the gender equality recommendations. We must see the recommendations made by citizens' assemblies being taken seriously and being brought into effect. That is crucial.

With regard to the two assemblies being discussed today, the Dublin citizens' assembly is an important and valuable one. I look forward to the deliberations there. I am grateful to my colleagues, Labour Party councillors and our Lord Mayor, Ms Alison Gilliland, for their insights and the feedback they have given me on their views. Many of our councillors, and other councillors too, have expressed concerns that their ability to carry out work on behalf of their electors is stymied by the absence of real executive power at present. We all are conscious that, by European standards, Ireland has a much less effective tier of local government. There are insufficient powers at local government level. We might contrast that with the type of city powers we see in cities such as London, where the mayor, Mr. Sadiq Khan, has exercised real power, and in cities in the US. A city diplomacy unit is now being established by the US State Department. We must look at models elsewhere to ensure we have meaningful and effective local government, and that the issue of a directly elected lord mayor is taken up and brought forward, but the mayor must have sufficient power to make it an effective office.

I am conscious that there is already draft legislation to introduce a directly elected mayor, which was brought forward by the Green Party the last time it was in government. My colleague, Councillor Dermot Lacey, has pointed out that this legislation could be reintroduced to avoid delaying local government reform any longer. I am sure the citizens' assembly will look at this. I hope it will be an inclusive assembly because many of those who live in Dublin are not from Dublin. It is vital that all residents in Dublin city and county are included. I note it is proposed to have 12 councillors participating. We need to hear why that number was considered. I am aware there is a proposed Seanad amendment to include a higher number, but we must be mindful that a citizens' assembly should primarily comprise citizens. There must be a clear balance there on membership.

I also welcome the proposed citizens' assembly on biodiversity. As spokesperson on climate for the Labour Party, I am conscious that we have not only a climate emergency but also a biodiversity emergency in Ireland. We have tragic levels of extinction of species worldwide. There are approximately 31,000 species known to occur in Ireland, yet the conservation status of only about 10% has been assessed. There is a fundamental knowledge gap in how we tackle biodiversity in Ireland, how we protect species and how we ensure against further loss of biodiversity. I implore the citizens' assembly on biodiversity to look at these issues, in particular, and to address that knowledge gap.

I welcome this motion and offer the support of the Labour Party for it, but I ask the Minister of State to move urgently to establish the other two promised citizens' assemblies on drug use and on education.

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