Here are some edited reactions to yesterday’s article by David Farrell
FRANK72:I would be unhappy to see the demise of the Seanad. A better solution would be to allow everyone to vote in its members and not the privileged few that currently have voting rights.
CHRIS:A citizens assembly, such as they have in Iceland, is urgently required if any reform is to take place... This country is not governed; it is ruled by an elite – a dictatorship. Yes, there are far too few women in government... the ruling boys club has wrecked the country.
2THEPOINT:There is an existing problem of voter apathy as evidenced by recent disappointing turnouts on voting days. I would see this as the first problem to be tackled before we begin to think about an assemlbly of citizens. Should a form of compulsory voting be examined further as a means to tackiling this?
JOHN MCMAHON:Democracy is very difficult to work satisfactorily, particularly if internal controls/checks are absent. The most serious control omission in Ireland in the past few decades are the citizens... The ultimate aim of citizens assemblies and any other reforms should be Truth and Transparency. If those concepts were present and acted upon throughout public life, citizens would sleep a lot more easily.
KIERAN MAGENNIS:No significant changes will occur if the decisions are left to FF/Lab/FG, trades union, business interests, professional classes and the rest of the establishment. What would really scare them would be organised protests, marches, boycotts, or a disorganised rabble – because such things threaten power and material wealth.
SEAN:It is time for a new party, drawn from the bright and disaffected in our existing parties and more importantly from the citizenry of this country, with clear policies, ignoring sectoral or party interests.
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