A NEW honours system to recognise outstanding contributions made by individuals to Irish society is to be introduced as part of a wide-ranging plan to promote higher levels of civic engagement.
The “national presidential citizen awards” will be awarded to a limited number of people selected annually through an independent process, based on nominations from members of the public.
It is one of a number of measures contained in the first report of the Office of Active Citizenship, which has been presented to the Dáil.
This body was established on foot of recommendations by a taskforce on active citizenship, which reported to the Government two years ago.
The report sets out nine key aims that are backed by the Government. The office hopes to implement them over the next three years.
Mary Davis, chairwoman of the steering group on active citizenship and managing director of Special Olympics Europe and Eurasia, said an awards programme would recognise outstanding contributions by men and women within their communities and for their country.
“We’re in the middle of preparing the groundwork for that. We want it to be broader and to recognise outstanding achievements across a wide area. It’s a matter of meeting with relevant Government departments and the President’s office and figuring out what the best way forward is,” she said.
There have been long-standing calls for such an honours system to recognise outstanding achievement in Ireland, most recently following the Irish rugby team’s grand slam victory.
Other plans by the office are further advanced, such as allowing communities to use school facilities in the evenings and the introduction of a new Leaving Certificate subject on “politics and society”.
Ms Davis said the Department of Education will be setting up pilot programmes in both urban and rural areas shortly to benefit communities in which community and recreational facilities are not available.
“There are some issues which need to be resolved, such as insurance, but I think they can be overcome with a little bit of creativity and working together,” she said.
Work is also taking place to introduce “politics and society” as a Leaving Certificate subject. It is envisaged that the subject will be the senior cycle equivalent of the Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) subject at junior cycle.
While some have voiced doubts about whether the Office of Active Citizenship will be able to achieve its aims, Ms Davis said Government departments have been “hugely receptive” to its recommendations so far.
“People were a bit cynical when we did the consultations on this, but we promised people that and said, ‘This will not stay on a shelf’ . . . It’s taken a bit longer than we thought, but I’m really thrilled that the office is established and with the progress so far. We’ve three years, now, to implement the recommendations.”