Message from the Chairman
2013-2014 – Convention on the Constitution
Convention on the Constitution
Message from the Chairman
Between January 2013 and February 2014, the 100 members of the Convention on the Constitution, made up of 66 citizens, randomly selected and broadly representative of Irish society; 33 parliamentarians, nominated by their respective political parties and including a representative from each of the political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly which accepted an invitation from the Government; and myself as independent Chairman, considered a range of changes to the Constitution to bring it into step with Irish society in the 21st Century. A total of 38 recommendations were made, 18 of which would require the Irish electorate to decide by referendums.
This website provides a comprehensive archive of how those recommendations were reached, following often intense debates, supported by expert advice and enriched by the views of advocates for change and, most importantly, submissions from the public both at home and abroad.
The information available on this site, including discussion documents, video presentations and public submissions is, I believe, a unique and valuable source of public information.
I would like to thank the members of the Convention for their time and effort in contributing to this historic initiative in participative democracy.
Tom Arnold
Chairman
Citizens’ Assembly
The Citizens’ Assembly is a totally separate entity from the Convention on the Constitution. The Government set up the Citizens’ Assembly, on foot of a Resolution passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2016, as another exercise in deliberative democracy, placing the citizen at the heart of important issues facing Irish society today. Click here to access the Citizens’ Assembly website.
