Call to name Constitutional Convention members

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 November 2012 | 22.40

The National Union of Journalists has called for an end to the secrecy surrounding the identities of the ordinary citizens involved in the Constitutional Convention.

The forum, established by the Government to look at proposed changes to the Constitution, meets for the first time tomorrow.

The convention is made up of 33 TDs and 66 ordinary citizens who were randomly selected as a representative sample by a polling company.

The chairman of the convention Tom Arnold has written to the 66 members suggesting that their names and the general area in which they live would be made available, without publishing details of their addresses.

Mr Arnold said he expects a full discussion on the matter at tomorrow's meeting.

He said public confidence in the Convention was of critical importance, and the right to privacy had to be balanced with the level of transparency needed to reassure the public of the true representative nature of the group.

Those selected have requested anonymity, fearing that they will be bombarded by lobby groups and journalists if their identity is made public.

The NUJ says it should be possible to assign email addresses or a central contact point for all members, which would not compromise their privacy.

NUJ Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley said that the findings of the convention have the potential to bring about a fundamental change in the political landscape and impact the lives of future generations.

He said the Government should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the names of all participants are made available.

Mr Dooley said the identity of all consultants engaged by the Convention should also be made public.

He added that, on a practical level, coverage of the convention and the planned live streaming of plenary sessions would be severely restricted if secrecy surrounding participants is imposed.

Senator Ivana Bacik welcomed the holding of the first meeting of the Constitutional Convention saying it is an exciting initiative.

"It represents the first attempt by any government to provide for a citizen-led programme of constitutional reform - and has real potential to bring about changes to some of the most problematic and contentious aspects of the current text," she said.

Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams described the Government's approach to the Convention as "under-ambitious and limited", but despite this, he said, his party will put a number of issues on the agenda, including voting rights in presidential elections for citizens in the North and for Irish emigrants.


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