Citizens’ assembly on abortion is too small, says Bríd Smith

The selection process for the citizens’ assembly to discuss abortion has been criticised by People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith who said 1,000 people should have been chosen not 99.

“Any reputable polling company would never conduct a selection of 100 people,” the Dublin South Central TD said. “It would rather have 1,000 people as it is much more representative of the population.”

She was speaking during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil as Enda Kenny called on TDs to allow the assembly, which first meets on October 15th, to "have its deliberations".

Mr Kenny said his department had set aside €2 million for the assembly’s work. He told Ms Smith, who questioned him on the detail of the selection, that polling company Red C was the only firm to tender for the job to provide a representative sample of 99 members of the public for the assembly, plus 99 alternatives.

And he confirmed that a special Oireachtas committee would deal with the report of the citizens’ assembly, chaired by Supreme Court judge Mary Laffoy, expected to be ready by the end of next June.

Polling company

Ms Smith asked if the polling company chose members in a stratified manner considering social class, history, gender and if they had experience with crisis pregnancy, which should be a consideration, she said.

The Dublin South-Central TD also asked if the polling company ever collected data on attitudes to religion, sexuality and reproductive rights.

The Taoiseach said Richard Jolly TV & Switch New Media won a tendering process to film, live broadcast and stream the assembly’s meetings. Q4 PR was selected from six firms tendering to provide media liaison and Beatrice.ie was chosen to provide translation services.

Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger described the assembly as a "Craggy Island" solution, a charade and a delay tactic. She claimed the Taoiseach always eschewed polls but was now using a polling company to pick 99 people.

Back-street abortions

Ms Coppinger said while Ireland did not have back-street abortions, because women could go to England, “we do have abortion. Three women a day carry out abortions in their bedroom. There are about 1,000 abortions taking place illegally in this State a month,” by women who order abortion pills online, she said.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was troubled that there was a question mark over a referendum. “There has to be a referendum. I am troubled that 99 citizens and Oireachtas committee might be used to frustrate” and delay dealing with the issue.

But Mr Kenny told her he recalled the “utter divisiveness on a number of occasions” during various campaigns on the issue.

Former Labour leader Joan Burton, who accused the Taoiseach of wanting to "long finger" the issue in the last government, said the change and conversation in Irish society reflected swaths of opinion. She warned "everybody will lawyer up" on the issue. She asked: "Are political parties going to be able to give their position? This is the citizens' assembly, by the way."

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the last Oireachtas committee process “was successful at least in defining everyone’s core position”.