Citizens' Assembly (Ireland)

Bilingual logo of the Citizens' Assembly

The Citizens' Assembly (Irish: An Tionól Saoránach[1]) is a citizens' assembly established in Ireland in 2016 to consider several political questions: abortion, fixed term parliaments, referendums, population ageing, and climate change.[2][3] It will produce reports to be considered by the Oireachtas (parliament).[3]

Background

The Citizens' Assembly is a successor to the 2012–14 Constitutional Convention, which was established by the Oireachtas in accordance with the government programme agreed by the Fine Gael–Labour coalition formed after the 2011 general election. Convention members were a chairperson nominated by the government, 33 representatives chosen by political parties, and 66 randomly chosen citizens. Meeting over 15 months, it considered seven constitutional issues previously specified by the Oireachtas and two more of its own choosing.[4] It made 18 recommendations for constitutional amendments and 20 for other changes to laws or Oireachtas standing orders; the government accepted some, rejected others, and referred others to committees for further consultation.[5] In 2015 Taoiseach Enda Kenny entertained the possibility of a similar body meeting after the next general election, which occurred in 2016.[6] In the buildup to the election, various politicians proposed changes to Irish abortion law, including repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees a fetal right to life. In November 2015, Kenny promised "a Citizen's Convention on the constitution, or whatever title would be appropriate" to address the issue.[7][8]

Establishment

The programme agreed by the Fine Gael–independent minority government formed after the 2016 election included this commitment:[9]

We will establish a Citizens' Assembly, within six months, and without participation by politicians, and with a mandate to look at a limited number of key issues over an extended time period. 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 (e.g. should 'super referendum days', whereby a significant number of referenda take place on the same day, be held).

On 13 July 2016, Damien English moved a resolution in the 32nd Dáil (lower house) approving the "calling of a Citizens' Assembly" to consider the four issues specified in the government programme and "such other matters as may be referred to it".[10] A Green Party amendment was accepted which added "how the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change" to the list of topics.[10] Sinn Féin and AAA–PBP amendments were rejected.[10] An analogous resolution was passed in the 25th Seanad (upper house) on 15 July.[2]

Personnel

On 26 July 2016, Mary Laffoy, a judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland, was chosen by the government as chairperson of the assembly.[11]

The 99 other members are "citizens entitled to vote at a referendum, randomly selected so as to be broadly representative of Irish society".[2] The representative criteria included gender, age, location, and social class.[12] As with the 66 citizen members of the Constitutional Convention, these 99 plus 99 substitutes[13] were selected by an opinion polling company;[14][15][16] Red C won the tender and began selection at the start of September.[17] The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2016 was passed to enable the electoral register to be used in this process.[15][3][18] Media were asked not to photograph the citizen members before the inaugural assembly meeting.[19] Members receive expenses but no other payment.[12] Of the original 99 members, 17 withdrew before the first working meeting, whose replacements immediately took over; another 11 withdrew before the final abortion meeting, whose replacements will not participate until the assembly moves on to its next topic for discussion.[12]

The assembly's secretariat is drawn from the civil service.[20] Its office is at 16 Parnell Square in Dublin.[21] In June the assembly's cost was estimated at €600,000, drawn from the Department of the Taoiseach, with €200,000 in 2016 and the balance in 2017.[3][22] In October the Taoiseach said €2m had been set aside.[23]

Deliberation process

Grand Hotel, Malahide, where the assembly meets.

The inaugural and introductory assembly meeting was held on 15 October 2016 at Dublin Castle.[19][24][25][26] The Grand Hotel, Malahide won the tender to host later, working, meetings.[26] RTÉ News predicted that there would be ten weekend sessions, each "opened with an address from the Chairperson, followed by expert presentations, Q&A sessions and debate, roundtable discussion and a plenary session."[17] Meetings are livestreamed.[26][27] Submissions will be invited from the public.[2][14] The assembly will complete its business within a year of its first meeting.[2] The government will formally respond to each report.[2] The calendar published in October 2016 includes seven three-day working meetings, one in November 2016 and one each month from January to July 2017.[28]

Eighth Amendment

The first issue to be considered is the Eighth Amendment,[2] beginning at its first working meeting on 25 November 2016.[29][28] Enda Kenny in September 2016 estimated it could take "six to seven months" to issue a report,[25] which will be referred to an Oireachtas joint committee,[30] This committee will in turn produce a report for debate in each house.[2] Resolutions to establish the "Special Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution" were passed on 4 and 13 April 2017 by the Dáil and Seanad respectively.[31]

The assembly's inaugural meeting decided that the abortion issue would be the topic for its first four working meetings,[19] a number later increased to five.[32] An advisory group of five experts was appointed: a medical lawyer, two constitutional lawyers, and two obstetricians.[19] The chairperson said she would investigate claims that an assembly member had publicly expressed pro-choice views on Twitter.[19][33] In the Dáil, Mattie McGrath complained that two of the five experts had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the existing abortion provisions.[34]

The opposition Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit (AAA–PBP) scheduled the second stage of a private member's bill repealing the Eighth Amendment for debate in the Dáil on 25 October 2016.[35][36] Fine Gael opposed the bill on the grounds that it would pre-empt the Citizens' Assembly discussion.[35] Similarly, independent minister Katherine Zappone said that, in deference to the assembly's work, she would oppose the bill despite herself favouring repeal.[37] The Independent Alliance ministers wanted a free vote, which Fine Gael opposed as compromising cabinet collective responsibility.[35] As a compromise, it was agreed that government TDs would oppose the AAA–PBP bill and would not shorten the assembly's timeframe for considering the abortion issue, but that the Oireachtas would expedite the processing of the assembly's report, by establishing the select committee ahead of time and giving it a strict six-month lifespan.[35] Accordingly, Simon Harris, the Minister for Health, moved an amendment to the second-reading motion, that "Dáil Éireann declines to give the Bill a second reading in order that the Citizens' Assembly, established by Resolutions of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, can conclude its deliberations on the Eighth Amendment which is the subject matter of this Bill, and report to the Oireachtas in the first half of 2017".[38]

Over 13,000 submissions were received from the public by the closing date of 16 December 2016. More than 8,000 were submitted electronically, including over 3,200 the final 24 hours.[39][21][40] Submissions will be uploaded to the assembly website, with "personal stories or sensitive submissions" deidentified.[39] Based on feedback from members, the chairperson selected 17 submitting organisations to make presentations to the assembly.[41] These were announced on 21 February: Amnesty International Ireland, Atheist Ireland, Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment, Doctors for Choice, Doctors for Life Ireland, Every Life Counts, Family & Life, Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, Irish Family Planning Association, Parents for Choice, Pro Life Campaign, General Synod of the Church of Ireland, Iona Institute, National Women's Council of Ireland, Union of Students in Ireland, Women Hurt, Youth Defence.[41]

Votes

The final meeting on abortion began on 22 April, with a series of votes held based on the deliberations from the earlier meetings. The first day's votes were on Article 40.3.3°, the subsection of the Constitution added by the Eighth Amendment:[32][42]

  1. It should not be retained in full (by 79 votes to 12)
  2. It should be replaced or amended (50 votes) rather than deleted and not replaced (39 votes)
  3. It should allow the Oireachtas to legislate (51 votes) rather than making direct provisions within the Constitution itself (38 votes) regarding "termination of pregnancy, any rights of the unborn, and any rights of the pregnant woman"

The second day's votes were recommendations for the envisaged Oireachtas legislation. There were separate votes on a range of potential circumstances in which abortion might be permitted, possibly restricted to a maximum number of weeks' gestation.[43]

Votes for given option, out of a total of 88 votes cast.[43]
Vote
no. 		Circumstance Time limit for gestation Other
[fn 1]
Never 12 weeks 22 weeks No limit
1 Real and substantial physical risk to life of woman 1 8 12 62 5
2 Real and substantial risk to life of woman by suicide 4 9 22 48 5
3 Serious risk to physical health[fn 2] of woman 6 12 21 43 6
4 Serious risk to mental health[fn 2] of woman 8 15 24 35 6
5 Serious risk to health[fn 2] of woman 8 12 25 40 3
6 Risk to physical health[fn 2] of woman 18 12 26 28 4
7 Risk to mental health[fn 2] of woman 18 12 31 20 7
8 Risk to health[fn 2] of woman 18 10 30 25 5
9 Pregnancy resulting from rape 9 23 25 25 6
10 Fetal abnormality likely to result in death before or shortly after birth 10 6 18 53 1
11 Significant fetal abnormality not likely to result in death before or shortly after birth 17 9 32 25 5
12 Socio-economic reasons 23 24 30 65
13 Unrestricted 29 25 23 4 7

Journalist Mary Minihan reported the following week that "the consensus in the Oireachtas is that the assembly's recommendations were an overly-liberal interpretation of the current thinking of middle Ireland on the issue."[44] On 29 June 2017, the assembly's official report was laid before the Oireachtas and published.[45][46] On 11 July 2017, the Oireachtas Joint Committee agreed its programme for considering the report, including a presentation from the assembly chairperson at a public session on 20 September 2017.[47]

Ageing population

The first meetings on "how we best respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population" were held on 10–11 June 2017.[48][49] In May a second weekend, on 8–9 July, was added to the schedule.[50][48][49] The assembly received 120 submissions from the public.[48] The first meeting's main topics were long-term care and independent living.[48] It was addressed by Eamon O'Shea, social gerontology professor at NUI Galway;[51] Pat Healy, social care director at the Health Service Executive; and Michael Browne of Third Age Ireland and the Citizens Information Board.[52][53] The second meeting focused on pensions and retirement.[54] Votes were taken on 16 questions: 11 yes/no questions and 5 multiple-choice.[55]

Votes

Yes:no results (of 78 votes cast) on Citizens' Assembly questions dealing with population ageing[55]
No. Question: Should the government ... ? Yes:no
vote
1 prioritise and implement existing policies and strategies in relation to older people 78:0
3 increase public resources allocated for the care of older people
(See also multiple-choice questions 2, 4, and 5) 		67:10[fn 3]
6 expedite the current commitment to place home care for older persons on a statutory footing 77:1
7 extend protection regulations from residential care to other care services
(See also multiple-choice question 8) 		77:1
9 make pension scheme mandatory (additional to State pension scheme) 67:10[fn 3]
10 remove the anomaly between mandatory retirement age (65) and State pension age (66) 75:3
11 abolish the mandatory retirement age 67:11
12 benchmark the State pension to average earnings 69:9
13 mandate greater transparency in private pension fees 78:0
14 backdate the Homemakers Scheme to 1973[fn 4] 68:10
15 enhance State support for [family] carers 77:1

Multiple-choice questions

Assembly members could distribute votes among multiple answers to the multiple-choice questions except question 2.

Question 2
In general, who should be principally responsible for providing required care for older people?
  1. Person or family, totally: 1
  2. Person or family, mainly : 47
  3. State, mainly: 25
  4. State, totally: 5[fn 5]
Question 4
Where do you believe additional funding for care of older people should primarily be spent?
  1. Residential care: 122
  2. Home care: 198
  3. Community-based integrated housing: 186
Question 5
Where do you believe overall funding for care of older people should come from?
  1. General taxation: 215
  2. Compulsory social insurance: 255
  3. Private insurance: 115
  4. Public–private cost-sharing: 150
Question 8
If the Government were to decide to extend regulation to other health and care services for older people, what other services do you believe should be regulated?
  1. Respite care: 70
  2. Day care: 68
  3. Home care: 72
  4. Supported housing: 71
Question 16
When considering how we respond to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population, which of these suggestions do you believe are the most important to implement?
  1. responsibility for older people should be formally delegated to a dedicated Minister of State for Older People. 72
  2. dedicated information service for older people: 71
  3. ensure that older people have a stronger voice in determining their own care needs: 69
  4. stronger governmental leadership in relation to the prioritisation of the health and social care needs of older people: 65
  5. encourage non-financial intergenerational transfers: 57
  6. Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015[fn 6] and elder abuse prevention: 72

Climate change

Two meetings on climate change are planned, for the weekends starting 30 September and 4 November 2017; the second was added to the schedule on 17 July.[58] Speakers will include the chair of the advisory group for a promised "National Dialogue on Climate Change".[58][59]

Assessments

In November 2016, David Van Reybrouck commended the Citizens' Assembly and the predecessor Constitutional Convention as models that other European countries could usefully imitate, which could counter the rise of populism.[60][61]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Includes abstentions and invalid votes
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Members also voted by 60 to 23 that "a distinction should not be drawn between the physical and mental health of the woman".[43]
  3. 1 2 One invalid vote
  4. ↑ The Homemakers Scheme makes it easier for those who provide full-time care to an incapacitated person to qualify for a State pension. As of December 2016 the maximum backdating is to the scheme's 1994 introduction.[56]
  5. ↑ This value is missing from the source document but can be back-calculated from the other values.
  6. ↑ The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 is the framework for assisting those with impaired capacity to make life decisions, such as via advance healthcare directives and enduring power of attorney.[57]

References

Sources

Citations

  1. ↑ "Home page". Official website. Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Citizens' Assembly: Motion". Seanad debates. KildareStreet.com. 15 Jul 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Government appoints Chairperson to Citizens' Assembly". MerrionStreet (Press release). 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ninth Report: Conclusions and final recommendations" (PDF). Convention on the Constitution. March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Written Answers No. 69: Constitutional Convention Recommendations". Dáil Éireann Debate. 17 May 2015. Vol. 909 No. 1 p.53. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Kenny, Enda (9 June 2015). "Constitutional Convention Recommendations (Continued)". Dáil Éireann debates. Retrieved 27 November 2015. While there was unanimous support for a second convention in the [Convention's final] report, it was acknowledged that this is an exercise that can only be achieved once in the lifetime of any Dáil
  7. ↑ Hand, Lise (27 November 2015). "Taoiseach denies rift with Fine Gael deputy leader Minister Reilly over abortion referendum". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Kenny would call forum on abortion if re-elected". RTÉ News. RTÉ.ie. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "A Programme for a Partnership Government" (PDF). Government of Ireland. 11 May 2016. p. 153. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "Citizens' Assembly: Motion". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 13 Jul 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Justice Mary Laffoy to chair assembly on abortion law". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Leahy, Pat (24 April 2017). "Who exactly are the citizens in the Citizens' Assembly?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  13. ↑ Dáil debates, 4 October 2016. "these 99 citizens and their 99 substitutes"
  14. 1 2 "Written answers: Citizens Assembly". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 19 Jul 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill". Seanad debates. KildareStreet.com. 15 Jul 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Written answers: Citizens Assembly". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 21 Jun 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  17. 1 2 "More details emerge about Citizens' Assembly - RTÉ News". RTÉ.ie. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "Electoral (Amendment) Act 2016". Irish Statute Book. Attorney General of Ireland. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 "Citizens' Assembly to discuss Eighth Amendment". RTÉ.ie. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "Written answers: Citizens Assembly". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 12 Jul 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  21. 1 2 Leahy, Pat (16 December 2016). "Over 4,500 submissions on abortion made to Citizens' Assembly". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach (30 Jun 2016). "Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)". Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees. KildareStreet.com. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  23. ↑ Dáil debates, 4 October 2016. "A total of €2 million has been set aside by my own Department for the citizen's assembly."
  24. ↑ Dáil debates, 4 October 2016. "The assembly's inaugural meeting will be an introductory session to allow the members of the assembly the opportunity to meet the chairperson and one another and to gain a better understanding of the context for the work that they will be undertaking."
  25. 1 2 "Citizens' Assembly's first meeting set for October". RTÉ.ie. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 Murphy, Darragh Peter (21 September 2016). "The Citizens' Assembly will take place on Saturday 15 October in Dublin Castle". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  27. ↑ "Live Webcast". Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Meetings: Calendar of Dates" (PDF). Official website. Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  29. ↑ Dáil debates, 4 October 2016. "The assembly will meet again in late November, at which time it will commence its consideration of the first item referred to it by the Dáil resolution, that is, the eighth amendment of the Constitution."
  30. ↑ Dáil debates, 4 October 2016. "I think we will have a special Oireachtas committee on that."
  31. ↑ "Establishment of a Special Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Motion". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.; "Establishment of Special Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Motion". Seanad debates. Oireachtas. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  32. 1 2 "Fifth Meeting of the Citizens' Assembly on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution". Citizens' Assembly. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  33. ↑ O'Connor, Wayne (16 October 2016). "Kenny tells new Citizens' Assembly of online risks". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  34. ↑ "Topical Issue Debate; Citizens Assembly". Dáil Éireann debates. Oireachtas. 22 November 2016. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "Government parties block abortion bill vote amid fears it would split the Government". BreakingNews.ie. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  36. ↑ "Private Members' Business" (PDF). Dáil Éireann Order papers. Oireachtas. 68: 1413. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016. 22. [...] Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of the Eighth Amendment) Bill 2016 — Second Stage
  37. ↑ "Katherine Zappone 'to vote against motion to repeal constitutional ban on abortion'". Irish Independent. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  38. ↑ "Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of the Eighth Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members]". Dáil debates. Oireachtas. 25 October 2016. pp. 17–18. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  39. 1 2 "Assembly receives more than 13,000 submissions". RTÉ.ie. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  40. ↑ Leahy, Pat (16 December 2016). "Citizens' Assembly deluged with abortion submissions". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  41. 1 2 "17 Advocacy Groups to Address Citizens' Assembly on the Topic of Eighth Amendment". Citizens' Assembly. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  42. ↑ "Citizens Assembly votes to give power to Oireachtas regarding abortion". Irish Examiner. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  43. 1 2 3 "Fifth Meeting on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Ballot 4B Results" (PDF). Official website. Citizens' Assembly. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  44. ↑ Minihan, Mary (29 April 2017). "Was Citizens' Assembly best way to deal with abortion question?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  45. ↑ "The Citizens' Assembly Publishes Report and Recommendations on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution" (Press release). Citizens' Assembly. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  46. ↑ Staines, Michael (29 June 2017). "Citizens' Assembly report on Eighth Amendment delivered to government". Newstalk. Dublin. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  47. ↑ Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (11 July 2017). "Consideration of Recommendations of Citizens' Assembly: Agreed Proposals for Committee's Work Plan" (PDF). Oireachtas. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  48. 1 2 3 4 Ring, Evelyn (10 June 2017). "Independent living on Citizens' Assembly agenda". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  49. 1 2 "How we best respond to challenges and opportunities of an ageing population". The Citizens' Assembly. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  50. ↑ "Citizens' Assembly will Meet for Additional Weekend on Topic of Ageing" (Press release). The Citizens' Assembly. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  51. ↑ "Prof. Eamon O'Shea". Our Research. NUI Galway. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  52. ↑ "Dr Michael Browne". People. Third Age. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  53. ↑ McGarry, Patsy (12 June 2017). "Spending on elderly cut by third since 2009, Citizens' Assembly hears". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  54. ↑ "Second Meeting on How We Best Respond to the Challenges and Opportunities of an Ageing Population". Citizens' Assembly. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  55. 1 2 "Composite Results Table" (PDF). Citizens' Assembly. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  56. ↑ "Homemakers Scheme". Department of Social Protection. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  57. ↑ "Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015". Legislation & Law Reform. Department of Justice and Equality. 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2017.; "Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015". Irish Statute Book. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  58. 1 2 "The Citizens' Assembly Will Meet For Additional Weekend On Topic Of Climate Change" (Press release). Citizens' Assembly. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  59. ↑ "Minister Denis Naughten publishes Ireland's first statutory National Mitigation Plan" (Press release). Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  60. ↑ Humphreys, Joe (27 November 2016). "Why Ireland's citizens' assembly is a model for Europe". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  61. ↑ Van Reybrouck, David (19 November 2016). "We have one year to make democracy work in Europe. Or else the Trumps take over". De Correspondent. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
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