The search is underway for 99 members of the public to take part in the next Citizens’ Assembly in January.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed that the inaugural meeting of the assembly on ‘gender equality’ will take place on Saturday January 25th and the first full meeting will take place from February 14th to 16th.

The electoral register is being used to select the assembly membership who will be “recruited at a national level and randomly selected to be broadly representative of Irish society”, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.

Former Secretary-General of the European Commission Dr Catherine Day will chair the gathering.

Mr Varadkar said there had been “extensive engagement” with relevant experts who will address the assembly and a public consultation will be carried out on gender equality.

A research fellow is due to be appointed shortly to monitor and record how the assembly conducts its work, its “deliberative quality”.