Referendum
Shadow constitutional convention #9: Paul Daly on 'referendumitis'
Shadow constitutional convention #2: O'Mahony on reforming the reform process
Is the Government's referendum "information" campaign unconstitutional?
Controversy has erupted surrounding the Government’s use of public funds for an allegedly neutral “information” campaign for the forthcoming referendum on the “Stability Treaty” (aka the Fiscal Compact). While the Referendum Act 1998 provides for an independent referendum commission to inform voters on proposed amendments, the Government has committed an additional €2million for a separate(…)
Getting to Grips with the Judges' Pay Referendum
On October 27th the electorate will vote for a new President and on two constitutional referenda. Both of these have received some attention here on HRinI in the past: I wrote on the judges’ pay referendum here and Eoin wrote on the Oireachtas Enquiries referendum here and here. In my earlier post I outlined some(…)
Profound Moral Values? McAvoy on A, B & C v. Ireland
We are pleased to welcome the latest post in our series of responses to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in A, B & C v. Ireland. This post is from Dr. Sandra McAvoy. An historian who focuses on issues around fertility control, she is co-ordinator of Women’s Studies at University College(…)
Still No Movement on the Children's Rights Constitutional Amendment
It is almost 3 months since the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children released its final report. As previously highlighted on this blog, this report followed 2 years, 62 Committee meetings, 2 other Committee reports and numerous milestones highlighting the precarious position of children’s rights in Irish society, including the publication of the Ryan(…)
Constitutional Renewal
As Liam mentioned here, I published an opinion piece in yesterday’s Irish Times in which I argued that commonly made calls for the wholesale replacement of the Irish Constitution (such as those made by, for example, the Labour Party, Justine McCarthy on Monday’s evening’s Aftershock on RTÉ and Leviathan) are misdirected. Instead of ushering in(…)