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UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title The report of the Democracy Commission : engaging citizens : the case for democratic renewal in Ireland Editor(s) Harris, Clodagh Publication date 2005-10 Original citation Harris, C. (ed.) (2005) The report of the Democracy Commission : engaging citizens : the case for democratic renewal in Ireland. Dublin: TASC at New Island Type of publication Book Link to publisher's http://www.tasc.ie/ version Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights © 2005, Democracy Commission, TASC and Democratic Dialogue. Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/2726 from Downloaded on 2021-07-07T11:27:49Z Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page i THE REPORT OF THE DEMOCRACY COMMISSION Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page ii TASC: think tank for action on social change TASC is an independent think tank committed to progressive social change in Ireland. It aims to provide a space for innovative thinking where dialogue between citizens, researchers and politicians is facil- itated. It is dedicated to seeking out new evidence based ideas and policy solutions which will inform strategies and campaigns for change as it works towards a society where equality is a human right. TASC is funded through independent consultancy work, donations and trusts. For more information on TASC visit www tascnet.ie Democratic Dialogue Democratic Dialogue is a think tank based in Belfast but with links across Ireland, Britain and beyond. Its twin focus is: the continuing change of political accommodation in Northern Ireland, and the social and economic issues neglected during the region’s ‘troubles’. Its vision is of an egalitarian society, at ease with itself and its evolving context. Democratic Dialogue organsises its work around projects, for which it welcomes commissions. It facilitates dialogue to generate publications, with a view to concrete policy outcomes. Further information on Democratic Dialoge can be found at www.democraticdialogue.org Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page iii The Report of the Democracy Commission ENGAGING CITIZENS The Case for Democratic Renewal in Ireland EDITED BY Clodagh Harris David Begg Ivana Bacik • Ruth Barrington • John Hanafin • Tony Kennedy Bernadette MacMahon • Mark Mortell • Elizabeth Meehan Nora Owen • Donal Toolan • Caroline Wilson Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page iv Copyright © Democracy Commission, TASC, and Democratic Dialogue. The Report of the Democracy Commission First published 2005 by tasc at New Island an imprint of New Island Press 2 Brookside Dundrum Road Dublin 14 www.newisland.ie The authors have asserted their moral rights. ISBN 1-904301 96 7. All rights reserved. The material in this publication is protected by copyright law. Except as may be permitted by law, no part of the material may be reproduced (including by storage in a retrieval system) or transmitted in any form or by any means; adapted; rented or lent without the written permission of the copyright owners. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typeset by Ashfield Press Cover design by Susan Waine Printed in Ireland by Betaprint Limited, Dublin Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page v Table of Contents Welcome note from TASC and Democratic Dialogue vii Foreword ix Acknowledgements xv List of Acronyms xvii Glossary xix Executive Summary 1 Introduction 17 CHAPTER 1 Citizenship 23 CHAPTER 2 Voter Participation 37 CHAPTER 3 Representation 58 CHAPTER 4 Accountability and Transparency 71 CHAPTER 5 Local Democracy 89 CHAPTER 6 Media 109 Conclusion 122 Bibliography 124 Appendices 132 APPENDIX ONE Diary of Activities 132 aPPENDIX TWO List of Submissions 137 APPENDIX THREE Submissions Requested 139 APPENDIX FOUR Commissioner Biographies 141 APPENDIX FIVE Papers prepared for the Commission 143 v Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page vi Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page vii TASC and Democratic Dialogue Welcome the Report of the Democracy Commission e established the Democracy Commission because we believe that collective participation in political decision- Wmaking is key to achieving equality in Irish society. We wanted to tackle the increasing disconnection from even the most basic forms of democratic participation in decision making for large groups of people, and to make public engagement the cornerstone of the process. We asked a number of people from across the spectrum of Irish society to form an independent commission, working in a voluntary capacity, to consider this question as they thought best and to give us their views and recommendations. At an early stage, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, which has an established record of work on democratic issues, supported the proposal and generously provided the main funding. In the meantime TASC initiated the Democratic Audit Ireland project, a complementary research project on democracy. Though this work will take another year, it has already produced information for use by the Commission. The Commission’s work is contained in these pages. The comprehensive consultation undertaken in both parts of the island of Ireland and the depth and range of its conclusions and recom- mendations cannot fail to impress. We owe them our deepest grati- tude. PAULA CLANCY Director, TASC ROBIN WILSON Director, Democratic Dialogue vii Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page viii viii Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page ix Foreword by David Begg inston Churchill is supposed to have said of democracy “It is a terrible bad system until you consider the alternatives”. Any review Wof the state of our democracy is unlikely to give it an absolutely clean bill of health. The question is rather if it can be improved to make it more responsive to the needs of the population and the common good. We conclude that it can and should and this report contains a number of recommendations which will, we think, allow for a more engaged and active citizenry which should in turn lead to a greater empowerment of people. Our hope is that some or all of these ideas will be debated and ultimately adopted by practitioners of politics and the public at large. In a national and international context this is a time of great change. The recent IRA statement has gone someway towards removing the greatest threat to democracy on this island, the existence of private armies and of armed political factions that do not recognise the authority of democratically elected governments. The Commission is aware that despite this statement, or even because of some of the reactions to it in government and elsewhere, devolution in Northern Ireland is unlikely to be restored in the weeks and months ahead. In the course of our enquiry we sensed a growing public concern about the way the region is becoming increasingly polarised against a backdrop of sectarian violence and intimidation. Indeed, this is being written at a time of an extraordinary upsurge of violence in loyalist communities. We share these concerns and hope that if and when devolution is restored in Northern Ireland it is more stably embedded than hitherto in the democratic norms of non-violence, human rights and the rule of law. We urge the British and Irish ix Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page x The Report of the Democracy Commission: The Case for Democratic Renewal in Ireland government, all parties in Northern Ireland and all civic actors there to focus their minds on a resolution of the current impasse in the spirit of the Belfast agreement and its various Irish, British and European contexts. Any resolution needs to promote genuine reciprocity between Protestant and Catholic. In particular we believe, taking our cue from the IDEA standard of democratic assessment, that the twin principles of equality and accountability are essential to the well being of democracy on the entire island of Ireland. For its part, the Commission suggests that, in advance of further rounds of political negotiation, the parties and interested civic actors in Northern Ireland should get around a table to discuss ‘the establish- ment over time of a normal, civic society, in which all individuals are considered as equals, where differences are resolved through dialogue in the public sphere and where all people are treated impartially’, as outlined in the recent policy document A Shared Future by the Northern Ireland Office. Such a forum could be convened by a neutral broker and could ease public concerns that MLAs continue to be paid in the absence of the assembly, as well as lending a sense of direction amid the current worrying drift. Ideally, as a consequence of this forum the parties would then themselves be able to present to the Governments a position over which they had ownership, and which commanded civic endorse- ment, as to the way in which democratic structures in Northern Ireland can be stably re-established. Internationally, the United States is pursuing a foreign relations policy of trying to impose democracy by force in Iraq, itself an anti- democratic action. This has provoked an effort to subvert democracy by Islamist terrorists who, presumably, hope to provoke restrictions on human rights and an even harsher security response. This cycle of violence is approaching Samuel Huntington’s sphere of “A Clash of Civilizations”. The draft European Union constitution has been derailed by a strong and well informed vote by the people of France and the Netherlands. Writing in the Financial Times on 26 July, 2005 Mikhail Gorbachev opined that Europe is now in crisis due to the arrogance of its political elites who he blames for isolating themselves from the people: “The EU crises could destablise political systems in Europe.

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