Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am raising the issue of the citizens' assembly on education this morning. I am failing in my efforts to find a date for this citizens' assembly.That is why I, unfortunately, have had to call the Minister of State to the Seanad. Under this Government, a number of successful citizens’ assemblies have been held. I am passionate about the process. For that reason, we sought to include a citizens’ assembly on education in the programme for Government. It is the final citizens’ assembly in the programme. I say “final”, but it did not have to be the last one. A decision was made somewhere along the line that it would be, though.

I am anxious. With the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, we knew that we would be facing into a citizens’ assembly on drugs directly afterwards. That assembly concluded its hearings in October. We are two months on and there are still zero updates on a citizens’ assembly on education.

As the Minister of State knows, I was the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, which examined the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality. We made our recommendations, following which there will be a referendum in March. I am also on the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, which has held hearings on the biodiversity citizens’ assembly. We are actually due to launch our report on that matter on the plinth at 11 a.m. A key part of the biodiversity citizens’ assembly was a children and youth assembly. Young people appeared before our committee and a member of the Department of Education was in the Public Gallery observing how to engage with young people in a citizens’ assembly-type forum.

I know that the work is under way. I simply want an update on it and a date. I want to know that young people will be involved in the citizens’ assembly, preferably in the same room as the adults, as they have so much experience to lend. I would also like an update on the expert body that is considering the terms of reference. This citizens’ assembly should be as broad as possible to start. That is the way the gender equality assembly was organised. Out of that, we had recommendations that took people by surprise. The deliberative process of a citizens’ assembly allowed people to think about what really mattered to people living in Ireland. That is how we should run the education assembly. My background is in alternative forms of education, having been chair of Home Education Network Ireland, one of the founders of the Steiner school in Galway and chair of that school’s board. We need to be innovative in terms of education.