ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Ireland’s Constitution is silent on the environment. Most of Irish environmental law comes from the EU. Ireland has been a laggard on the implementation of EU environmental law. This has led to citizens taking a lead on protection of the environment. Citizens’ assemblies are an example of how we could create such a consensus on how to achieve a sustainable society.

Encouraging sustainability has directed EU taxation policy away from taxes on labour toward taxes on pollution and consumption. This is an area of major conflict where consensus is lacking in Ireland. There is a need to promote a dialogue with audiences of different persuasions to help achieve consensual solutions to the major challenges of our time