Offaly TD calls for end to Citizen's Assemblies as costs top €4.6m

An Offaly TD has called for the phasing out of Citizens Assemblies after costs exceeded €4.6 million.

Independent Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan said that the Department of the Taoiseach has confirmed to her that an allocation of €502,000 has been provided in respect of both Citizens’ Assemblies planned for 2022, bringing the total from 2014 to 2022 to around €4.6 million.

The Assemblies will examine issues relating to biodiversity as well as a directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin.

Additional funding requirements, if necessary, will be provided from within existing resources allocated to the Department of the Taoiseach’s Vote 2022.

The information was released to Deputy Nolan in response to parliamentary questions she had placed on the matter.

The responses also revealed that the total cost of the Citizens’ Assemblies that have taken place from 2014-2021 is €4.1million.

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Matters considered by Citizens Assemblies to date include same-sex marriage, the role of women in politics, abortion and electoral reform.

Commenting on the information provided to her, Deputy Nolan said: “I have significant reservations about the democratic value, role and place of Citizens’ Assemblies.”

“While they have a veneer of democratic legitimacy and democratic participation, in reality, they are very far from being truly representative of where the general population is on a whole range of issues.”

“Why have we never had an Assembly on reform of the health service, the systemic crisis in housing, the exponential rise in anti-social behaviour, regional economic imbalance or a robust but fair immigration system, rampant drug use and the absence of services to address that issue? Why is it almost always the kind of topics generally beloved of the NGO and academic class?

“I also question why Government is throwing hundreds of thousands of euros at the biodiversity Assembly when we have just had a lengthy Assembly process on the challenges inherent in climate change and when we have an entire Climate Advisory Panel that was specifically set up to look at these issues in the round.

“I think the time has come to consider phasing out the Citizen Assembly model,” concluded Deputy Nolan.