Dublin Citizens’ Assembly

The Dublin Citizens' Assembly convened in 2022 to explore the most suitable model for a directly-elected mayor and the optimal local government structures for Dublin. There were 80 members, made up of an independent Chairperson, 67 randomly-selected members of the public, and 12 Councillors, who met on five occasions over six months. All meetings were streamed live publicly. The assembly was given the freedom to agree its own rules of procedure and work programme, informed by learnings from previous Citizens’ Assemblies and international best practice. Members received payment for their time, and staff were assigned to provide secretariat support.

The assembly recruitment process was based on invitations to 14,000 randomly-selected households who were asked to nominate one adult from that household to apply to become a member – a process designed to improve the geographic spread of members and to increase inclusivity.

The assembly considered a range of issues, including: the strengths and weaknesses of the current model of local government in Dublin; having a directly elected Mayor; what functions could be transferred from central government to regional or local government; and structures for local and regional government. The work of the assembly culminated in a report and a series of recommendations – based on majority vote – to the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Government then provided a response to each recommendation and timeframe for implementation for those recommendations that were accepted.