Selection of members

There were 99 citizen Members of the Assembly, in addition to the Chairperson. Members were chosen at random to represent the views of the people of Ireland and were broadly representative of society as reflected in the Census, including age, gender, social class, regional spread, etc.

How were the citizen Members selected?

Following a public tendering process, REDC Research and Marketing Ltd. was engaged to select the 99 citizen Members and 99 substitutes for the Assembly.

The Members were initially recruited in September and October 2016, but additional recruitment was undertaken as the need for substitutes arose.

The recruitment was carried out by a team of highly professional recruiters from REDC Research and Marketing Ltd. across 15 broad regional areas throughout the country. The sampling points were selected on a random basis in accordance with Census 2011 data and QNHS population estimates to ensure that they were nationally representative in terms of geography. This did not mean, however, that each county was necessarily represented. The process used by REDC was designed to ensure that the Members are broadly representative of Irish society including the urban-rural divide.

The Members were chosen at random and are broadly representative of demographic variables as reflected in the Census. The quotas each interviewer had to reach in their allocated District Electoral Division (DED), were based on a number of demographic variables – gender, age, and social class.

The social class of respondents is graded on their own occupation.  Occupations are then classified into different class groups, and interviewers have been trained to be able to ask further questions to ensure they are classifying people correctly. At a very basic level the following groups are identified.

Chairperson

The Honourable Mary Laffoy

The Honourable Mary Laffoy graduated from University College Dublin with a B.A. degree in 1968.  Subsequently, between 1968 and 1971 she studied law at University College Dublin and at the Honorable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin.  She was called to the Bar in July 1971.

She practised as a barrister from the Michaelmas term in 1971 until her appointment to the High Court.  She was admitted to the Inner Bar in the Michaelmas term of 1987.