Citizens For Managing Conflict Guest: Barry O'Mahoney

My guest Barry O’Mahoney worked with the Irish government on managing the Facilitators and Notetakers on Citizens’ Assemblies. He explains why parliament established a Citizen Assembly in Ireland. He also talks about the benefits of a Citizens Assembly i.e creating an atmosphere so people can speak openly in a safe environment and have an informed discussion. We learn how useful a Citizen Assembly is in addressing major issues like same-sex marriage and abortion (in Ireland)and how this deliberative democracy model provides factual information about conflictual topics, which then assists in engaging the mood about the issue. He makes an interesting point about whether Brexit could have taken a different turn had there been a Citizens’ Assembly before the referendum was called.