Citizen's Assembly to review how referendums are held in Ireland
The Citizen's Assembly will meet today to discuss how referendums are held in Ireland.
It will look at the history of such votes, as well as the issues of voter turnout, regulation and direct democracy, where the people are given a greater say in what issues go to a referendum.
There will be presentations from a panel of experts, before the 99 citizens discuss what recommendations they want to make to the government.
WIT law lecturer Dr Jennifer Kavanagh said it can be difficult to get the right balance when multiple referendums are held at the same time.
"With the media trying to guarantee this 50/50 split - sometimes it's just not going to be possible but you need to have as much of a balance as you can," she said.
"When you hold more than one referendum in one day, certain issues won't be as topical, won't be as divisive or subject to debate as the others so people may not even be aware of what they are voting on," she added.
