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ABOUT 800 OF the more than 13,500 submissions to the Citizens’ Assembly have been put online ahead of this weekend’s meeting of the 99 person assembly.
This weekend’s meeting is the third of the assembly and the second on the issue of the Eighth Amendment.
The deadline for public submissions to the assembly closed on 16 December and a portion of what has been received has now been uploaded to its website.
A spokesperson for the assembly has said that the remainder of the submissions are expected to be online in the next four to six weeks as each one is required to be read and vetted.
Contact details from some written submissions have to be removed, for example, and some may not be published if they are considered offensive.
Members of the assembly have been encouraged to look through the submissions and the assembly is also to discuss the best method of making the large volume of material more digestible for members.
The submissions include opinion-based testimonies from individual members of the public, interest groups as well as personal stories.
Looking through the correspondence, it is clear that many individual submissions follow a template as they contain the same passages word-for-word as other submissions.
One common submission that opposes any change to abortion laws opens with the following passage:
Members of the Citizens’ Assembly,The Citizens’ Assembly has been asked to consider a referendum to repeal the right to life of the unborn child as protected under the 8th amendment to the constitution. As an Irish citizen who strongly believes in the value of every human life, this prospect causes me great concern.
Although that paragraph is common in many of the submissions, it is incorrect in that the assembly has not been asked to consider a referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
It’s expected that assembly members will decide at their meeting in March whether any change to Irish laws are required and it would be for the government to decide if a referendum is required.
A spokesperson for the assembly’s secretariat has said that it will not be fact-checking the submissions they receive as the purpose of the submissions is to “engage members of the public”.
The unborn
Many of the submissions that oppose any change to Irish law argue that unborn children deserve the same protection as citizens.
One submission by Catherine McSweeney reads:
We are not allowed in law to kill our neighbours or people in the street – why should unborn children be any different?
Many of the submissions that are opposed to abortion make religious-based arguments. One by Bridget Sherlock says:
When the blood flows from abortion, Satan has his day and that has consequences for everyone. Jesus told us in the Garden of Gethsemane, all who draw the sword will die by the sword. God forbid Ireland to fall on the sword but when it comes to God – ‘tis all or nothing.
Repeal the 8th
Many of the letters written in support of a change in Irish law are also templates and are titled ‘Repeal the Eighth Amendment’.
For example, the Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment was cited in some submissions and it reads:
The decision to insert the Eighth Amendment into the Irish Constitution in 1983 was a disastrous mistake which has led to inexcusable suffering for many women in Ireland and is an ongoing cause of shame for Irish citizens.
Personal stories are also a common feature of the submissions. One by Catherine Connelly is titled, ‘Why being a mother has made me more pro-choice’:
Changing nappies at 3am, having milk leak all down my top, walking with an ache from my womb – all with contentment and deep understanding that I chose this. All of this. This hard and holy work. I would never ever place this work of pregnancy, of mentally preparing to birth and physically birthing within the Irish system where choices are lacking. I would never want a woman who doesn’t want a(nother) child to have to go through it all.
Moral and legal issues
This weekend’s meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly will hear from a total of seven different speakers who will discuss medical, legal and ethical considerations.
As per the feedback from assembly members after their previous meeting, there is to be a specific focus on cases of foetal abnormalities, both fatal and otherwise.
Case studies, including that of Amanda Mellet, will be frequent among the presentations.
A spokesperson for the assembly has said that members have already expressed a desire to begin teasing out their ultimate recommendation and this will be touched upon this weekend.
The members will also be given a presentation by Dr David Kenny of Trinity College Dublin on ‘How laws are made and changed’.
Further details of this weekend’s schedule are available online and the proceedings will also be streamed on citizensassembly.ie.
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The cattle truck service and the ham & cheese hot sambo yesterday on plane from Faro was crappy, but boys-o-boys have they kicked ass all over Europe. There is no way I would have even considered flying to portugal for the w/end before the advent of Ryanair. They have made short-haul travel around europe as accessible as train travel around ireland, sometimes even more so. I have had some fantastic holidays with my family in the last 15 or 20 years where the least expensive portion of the trip was five airline tickets. I don’t have to like them but I am thankful for them.
Judging by the fawning commentary all over this article it looks like their PR guys are kicking ass too!
I’m wondering why thejournal jump all over every bit of bad publicity, that headline is the by now standard anti Ryanair bashing which always appear on here. There have been lots of articles about other airlines which never mention the airline, but once it’s Ryanair its plastered in the headline. Why?
Because other airlines don’t make pinching customer satisfaction a business strategy.
It doesnt matter what the story is, if it’s about Ryanair it is plastered all over the headline. The same does not apply to other airlines where there is a story about them.
It’s a conspiracy I tells ya!
Hi John, I’d have to disagree with you on this one. Here’s a story we did just over a week ago on Aer Lingus: http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/aer-lingus-fuel-surcharge-1872830-Jan2015/
That link’s also at the bottom of this story.
Michael O’Leary wouldn’t know what nice was even if he was in Nice being fed Nice biscuits by a really nice Nice biscuit maker from Nice.
whispering Nice crumbs of nothing nicely around Nice.
He’s probably scream and swear at you until he was blue in the face that he was being nice in Nice when actually in an ‘airport’ with a tin can shed for a terminal and a dirt runway, 100kms from Nice and possibly not actually in France…
Is there anything in European law that states the advertised destination has to be in the same timezone ?
Nope… Ryanair’s new long haul service to Australia plans to exploit that by towing the plane to the other side of Dublin airport and kicking people off at swords international (sydney) airport.
I’ve flown Ryanair about 50 times and never had a problem with them. It’s like taking a bus, you pay your fare, arrive on time, have all your stuff in order, simples! The people who seem to have problems from what I have seen over the years are the people who turn up with overweight baggage, late, the wrong documents and expect to get special treatment because they didn’t prepare for their journey.
The same people will then hold everyone up at security because they couldn’t be arsed getting ready for screening until they get right up to the checkpoint . “Oh, I have to take all metal objects out of my pockets! Oh, I have to take off my jacket….” e.t.c. Then they hold everyone up because they arrive late to the gate “Oh, I never heard the announcement and I am incapable of reading any form of timepiece”.
The funny thing is that they managed to get into a car/bus/train and make the complicated journey to the airport but for some reason can not walk through a security gate and arrive at a boarding gate on time! There is definitely a research project there for some psychology student.
Is that you Robin?
It seems to me that ryanair penalise stupidity. Basically you sort out your crap and they will have theirs done. If u Fcuk up then you pay for it. It couldn’t be simpler.
I’ve flown all over the place with them. But it’s like a hotel. You pay 60 euros for a room and have a complaint about it then you only have yourself to blame. 5 star comes at a premium. Just like trying to get off this island before ryanair came along.
Exactly, everybody says they hate them but yet they’re raking in the money and making 800 million a year in profit. Michael O’Leary turned a failing airline into one of the most succesful airlines in the world. You’ve got to admire him really.
Pity he’s not running the country.
Yeah those stupid people that were born needing a wheelchair… Why should a cheap ass tightwad like me have to pay anything towards them to be accommodated?
Let them pay a punitive fee then they might think twice about needing that wheelchair.
I’m not sure what the policy is with wheelchair users, but I very much like the idea of people paying for what they use as opposed to spreading the cost of absolutely everything out to everyone.
You all love a good moan don’t you!?
I’m currently in a lovely little Belgian bar thanks to Ryanair. If you don’t like Ryanair and their extraordinarily cheap prices I suggest you avail of free market economics and use Aer Lingus.
Bring on the red thumbs you bunch of whiners!!
Ah you’ll be fine, think most people agree with you!
They make so much money from ‘pissing people’off that these fines are a drop in the ocean. Piss you off or not they are are good at what they do most of the time. Love him or hate him, O’Leary is a genius.
Now that O’Leary has got rid of his Gestapo at the boarding gates i have to say that The European traveller- and the European economies (Tourism etc) would be a damn sight worse off, if Ryanair did not exist.
What about back here? I had to correct a small mistake on the names, I’m good with computers and it was impossible to find a number for customer services..
So my point is if we are paying to get through to c services why is it not listed clearly on their website?
In fairness their number is very easy to find on Ryanair.com, getting resolution might be harder but the number is there.
I was redirected either to their online services or to chat to someone online, definitely no number listed..
You cant be too good with computers if you cant even spell your own name ;)
Ryanair.com/en/questions/contacting-customer-service/
That took about 40 seconds.
Like so many companies now, you are encouraged to transact business on line. Soon – no humans will be available. Get used to it m8….
Ryanair customer service is a contradiction in terms.
Ryanair is a brilliant company with many enemies without borders
I still avoid them if I can. The last two times I flew home with them (Rome and Faro) I wasted 65 and 55 minutes to check in bags.
How is that their fault?
Good for you – one more cheap seat for me. Go ahead on Aer Lingus, but dont be complaining when the cabin crew are on strike
How long would it have taken to check in bags with other airlines? 5-10 minutes? I doubt that there is a check in desk in the world that checks bags through like you were in Tesco’s.
At least of Aer Lingus are on strike they will refund the tickets, if Ryanair flights are cancelled because of strike action (Air traffic control, airport strike action or whatever) you’re lucky if you even get them to rebook you!!!
What? Try getting a refund from EI if there is an ATC strike. FR nor EI will refund in those circumstances. EI will refund when their own staff strike not when French or Italian ATC strike.
@ Brian i’d give you 3 green thumbs if i could
@Brian. Check in online. Tag and drop bag at airport. Five mins max. #airnewzealand
It isn’t the cheap fares airline anymore is it ?
Just akin’ – not an attack . Calm down , if I’m wrong I’m wrong – no biggy .
We are going to Brussels for €90 one way – 3 people. Then Eindhoven to Katowice for €80 and krakow dublin for €160. €330 total. That’s cheap.
If you book well in advance and are flexible with your days you can get some great deals. If you have to take a flight on short notice you can get screwed. Saying that I can fly to Poland in March for €96 return which is about what it would cost to drive up and down to Dublin in my car.
You wouldn’t have flown Dublin to London twenty five years ago for that price.
Airlines in the USA are barely profitable due to the huge amount of competition. Ryanair brings more than its fair share of competition to a relatively unsaturated market. It didn’t need to be a cheap airline. They could have tacitly agreed with Aer Lingus not to rock the boat and keep both their prices high but they didn’t, they gave us our money’s worth because they’re a fiercely competitive company who clearly believe in the beauty of the free market.
I am usually flying abroad a lot, and I use Ryanair mostly, unless Aer Lingus are cheaper. Just before Christmas I had booked flights, and thought nothing about getting the email confirmation, anyway I didn’t get it, but hadn’t realised this until the night before the flight. Ryanairs customer service number is premium, but also, they close at 7pm. So, not being able to contact them, I drove to the airport, 4 hour round trip to confirm my flight. I have made a spelling error on my email address. Now it was my fault on the spelling mistake, but it would have helped if their phone lines stayed open for longer.
I flew to Zurich with Aer Lingus and it was great, came back through Geneva with Ryan Air, what a nightmare no space lotto selling then food then duty free, i suppose you get what you pay for.
Ryanair don’t fly to Geneva.
@ Mick i flew from Basel my mistake
Ryanair have the same pitch as aer lingus so the seats are then same distance apart so how was there no space?. And aer lingus offer food and duty free as well
You get what you pay for . But we’ll all still fly Ryanair . Cheap but not so cheerful .
It’s Dunes or Marks, time or rushing, weighing baggage or having a kilo over like aer Lingus all these things to make peoples lives easier, give me Aer Lingus any day.
Last Christmas, when I came back from Germany, my bag was a bit more than 1 kg over weight, no-one at Ryanair batted an eyelid, I think it depends more on the mood and daily form of your check-in person, if you’ll be charged extra or not..
If you read the terms and conditions you should never have to get through to Customer service or you should never have any problems with Ryanair.
The fact of the matter is, Ireland thrives on this mans business. If you feel you could do a better job get up and do something about it rather than critiquing one of Ireland’s most successful business people. The country already has enough talkers.
It only takes 3 clicks to get the numbers section..
He doesn’t give a monkeys. Even this article is free press for Ryanair.
You still get what you pay for.
This headline clearly editorialises. Is that within Press Council of Ireland rules?
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