Sir, – Alex Staveley and Kevin Nolan are both concerned that their voices are not sufficiently heard in the Citizens' Assembly (July 11th). That's a concern we've heard people raise about the Dáil as well.
If anything, the sensible and straightforward recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly have highlighted the absence of voices in the Dáil on issues such as the pensions of women who have taken time off work to care for their children or the decisions of young women not to continue with a pregnancy.
In the Citizens’ Assembly, we see an example of how a more inclusive, deliberative politics can work. A politics that travels beyond the gates of Leinster House and Government Buildings and gives voice to a greater range of citizens than would normally be heard.
The Citizens’ Assembly does not compromise democracy, it simply extends it. Ultimately, every recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly will return to the Oireachtas.
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Let’s hope that when that happens the voices of all those represented on the Citizens’ Assembly, but missing in the Dáil, will not be lost. – Yours, etc,
UNA POWER,
Women’s Officer,
OLIVER MORAN,
Political Reform
Spokesman,
The Green Party,
Suffolk Street,
Dublin 2.