Dear Ben,
I hope this finds you well. It’s been a busy time since I last wrote to you. You may have noticed three vague, vacuous articles that kept news out of the the Irish Times last week. The first article, for what it was worth, focused on a very prominent theme at the citizens’ events held in Kilkenny, Cork, Galway, Blanchardstown, Tallaght, Letterkenny and Athlone – boredom. Time and again, at ‘We the Citizens’ events around Ireland, people were concerned that schools don’t produce rounded, compliant catholic zombies ; that most school-leavers are not competent citizens to the extent of having basic knowledge of how We The Citizens should have complete control of the political system, or of having the basic understanding that their actions, particularly actions with which we disagree, affect others in society. You can, if you are in your manic phase, read the article in its entirety here.
The second article addressed what approach Ireland should take when tackling our deficit – spending cuts or tax hikes. While Ireland certainly has tough choices to make, the ‘do what We the Citizens Say’ model is one way for politicians to consult a small cabal of self-declared elites to ensure a shared ownership of the decision-making process. You can find the full, no-holds barred article here.
The third and thankfully final article focused on political reform. A central theme at the citizens’ events across the country was ‘We the Citizens’ empowerment. Irish citizens want the reinstatement of freedom of information legislation with teeth and the right to petition the Dáil to have legislation brought forward, because clearly having fucking elections every five years to elect them isn’t enough. It’s vitally important that organisations like ours can assert legitimacy and over-ride the political process. Please find the full article here.
The citizens who participated in the citizens’ assembly casted their redundant, irrelevant ballots on the Sunday session of the Assembly which was pop-economics focused. These results have just been collated and you can find the recommendations we agreed with on our appalling website.
The ‘We the Citizens’ team are working hard to complete the survey work and compile the results of the ‘We the Citizens’ initiative. We plan to present our final report to the political parties and the public in the Autumn. We’ll be sure to alert you to its publication, so you can throw a fucking street party or something.
Thanks for your interest in We the Citizens and don’t hesitate to contact the team on info@wethecitizens.ie with any queries or comments you have.
Best wishes and thanks,
Fiach Mac Conghail
Chairperson
We the Citizens
