Constitutional Convention will start on 1 December - Join NWCI Members Group
Published: Monday, November 05, 2012
The long-awaited Constitutional Convention is due to begin on 1 December 2012. The NWCI is now establishing a member's working-group to meet throughout the duration of the Constitutional Convention. The purpose of the group will be to mobilise women to achieve change through the Convention, supporting the NWCI's policy and communications work. One of the most important jobs the NWCI will play is bringing the human stories of women affected by our outdated Constitution to the decision-makers.
The Convention will be launched by the Taoiseach in an event in Dublin Castle. The Convention is scheduled to meet over at least eight months. Six of the meetings will take place in Dublin and two will take place in Cork and Galway. 66 members of the public, and 33 politicians from the Republic and Northern Ireland, will participate in the Convention.
The Convention will look at issues of interest to women, including:
- Marriage equality
- Women in the home and care
- Women in politics and the electoral system.
At a civil society briefing held on 5 November 2012 the newly appointed Chair of the Convention Tom Arnold spoke about his belief that the Convention is one part of the process of building a new country where rights and responsibilities were at the heart of our society. The newly created website www.constitution.ie will allow for live streaming of plenary events, as well as allowing interested individuals and groups to make submissions to the Convention. Some will also be given the opportunity to appear before the Convention to make oral submissions.
The schedule for the Convention will be published at the 1st meeting on 1 December 2012. The Convention will also decide its agenda in relation to point (ix) – whether or not the Convention can discuss other issues. The NWCI will be asking the Convention to open its discussions to include a range of other issues such as the economic and social rights of citizens.
Any NWCI members with an interest in joining the NWCI Constitutional Convention group should email Eóin Murray by Thursday, 22 November 2012 at eoinm@nwci.ie.