Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"approves the calling of a Convention on the Constitution that should determine matters and recommendations regarding constitutional change as it sees fit and to report to the Houses of Oireachtas;

proposes that matters for consideration by the Convention should include:

(i) reducing the Presidential term of office to five years and aligning it with the local and European elections;

(ii) reduction of the voting age;

(iii) review of the Dáil electoral system;

(iv) giving citizens resident outside the State the right to vote in Presidential elections and constitutional referenda;

(v) provision for same-sex marriage;

(vi) amending the clause on the role of women in the home and encouraging greater participation of women in public life;

(vii) increasing the participation of women in politics;

(viii) removal of the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution;

(ix) the fundamental reform of Seanad Éireann; and

(x) other relevant constitutional amendments that may be recommended by it;

recognises:

— that this Constitutional Convention must be fully inclusive in composition and use a participatory process, actively involving in particular:

— the economically disadvantaged;

— the socially marginalised;

— Irish citizens from all provinces;

— Unionists and their official representatives;

— citizens in the diaspora; and

— our newest citizens;

— that the Convention's process must be fully public, transparent and accountable, from discussion of its terms of reference to its appointments, and from the debates to the conclusion of its recommendations;

— that the Convention must have the mandate to consider the broadest possible scope of matters, including, in particular, the need for express guarantees of economic and social rights, the extension of voting rights for northern citizens and citizens in the diaspora, and the architecture necessary to establish a more robustly inclusive, fully representative and accountable democracy with mechanisms for direct participation;

— that the new Constitution arising from this process must include maximum human rights guarantees; and

— the new Constitution arising from this process should not only be exemplary but also durable, justifying the investment of resources, time and effort, as particularly in a time of austerity, this project must be cost-effective, representing value for money for the public; and

notes that:

— membership of the Convention will consist of 100 persons as follows:

— a Chairperson to be appointed by the Government;

— 66 citizens selected so as to be broadly representative of Irish society;

— a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from each of the political parties in the Assembly which accepts an invitation from the Government; and

— members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, so as to be impartially representative of the Houses;

— substitutes may be appointed subject to the selection criteria above, who will be entitled to contribute to the proceedings and vote in their own name;

— the Convention will agree its own rules of procedure for the effective conduct of its business in as economical and timely a manner as possible;

— the Convention will have appropriate regard to the Good Friday Agreement, the St. Andrews Agreement and all the modern equality and human rights protections that reflect the full spectrum of our international obligations and any others that are necessary to establish a rights-based society;

— the Convention will report and make recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas on matters when it has completed its deliberations to allow for a comprehensive referendum to take place in 2016;

— the Convention may invite and accept submissions from interested bodies and will seek such expert advice as it considers desirable;

— all matters before the Convention will be determined by a majority of the votes of members present and voting, other than the Chairperson who will have a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes; and

— the Government will provide in the Oireachtas a response to the recommendations of the Convention within four months and, if accepting the recommendations, will legislate for any related referendum by 2016."

Sinn Féin agrees with the section of Fine Gael's election manifesto which declares:

In any Republic the people are supposed to be supreme. Judged by that standard Ireland today is a Republic in name only. The expressions "Golden Circle", "Crony Government" and "Crony Capitalism" all describe the same thing: The abduction of our Republic by both public and private sector vested interests, aided and abetted by Fianna Fail ... We want to build a new Republic in which the interest of the people and not those of the insiders are placed at the centre of politics in Ireland ... Modern Ireland cannot be governed by a system of government originally designed for 19th Century Britain. Ireland needs more than piecemeal reform. It needs radical root and branch change.

The Labour Party made similar promises. That was the basis on which people voted for this Government. They wanted fundamental change from the corrupt practices of the past. Tá athraithe substaintiúla de dhíth ón phobal, athraithe atá ar mhaithe an phobail agus ní ar mhaithe an chiorcail órdha, athraithe a chuireann cearta na ndaoine chun cinn agus a bhféadfaí a gcur chun cinn i bpoblacht nua amach anseo san tir seo. Citizens were angry and resentful of a democratic process that had been subverted by the golden circles and a political class that promoted its narrow interests and those of the bankers, speculators and developers.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party promised a constitutional convention to safeguard rights and return the democratic process to the people. The Taoiseach undertook to consult with Opposition parties and agreed to include the extension of the franchise in Presidential elections for citizens in the North as part of the convention's agenda. A year and a half after the election we now have the Government's resolution on establishing the convention. Sinn Féin believes it falls far short of the commitments made by the two parties in the general election campaign and that without significant amendment the convention will be a lost opportunity. We hoped that the constitutional convention would see the emergence of a new constitutional arrangement to meet the needs of 21st century Ireland. The economic crisis in this State, the revelations of corruption in certain political parties and the tribunal findings against leaders of Fianna Fáil, alongside the success of the peace process in the North, means that Ireland is in transition. Citizens want change and this constitutional convention is an opportunity for the Government to build a truly national consensus for fundamental change and to transform the existing constitutional architecture to take account of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement.

A new constitutional design could reimagine Ireland for this new century and put in place a constitution which puts all the citizens of this nation and this island at its heart. The new constitution should deliver on the promise of the 1916 Proclamation, which declares: "the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible" and that the Republic, as a sovereign independent State, guarantees "religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the nation equally". That was the change for which people voted. They wanted new politics, genuine reform and, in the republican language of the Fine Gael manifesto, core republican values.

Instead, however, we have a proposal which limits the remit of the constitutional convention. It fails to deliver a comprehensive transparent process and unless its remit is changed it will deliver minimal change. Ba mhaith le Sinn Féin coinbhinsiún bunreachtúil atá i bhfad níos leithne, le próiseas atá oscailte agus trédhearcadh agus le cumhacht ag an phobal a chuid moltaí a gcur faoi bhráid an choinbhinsiúin. Sinn Féin proposes a convention which we believe would be closer to the concerns of the people and would reflect a process that is genuinely open and transparent. Our amendment proposes a convention that is fully inclusive in composition and uses a participatory process. It would actively involve the economically disadvantaged and socially marginalised; citizens from all provinces including the Northern province of Ulster; Unionists and their official representatives; citizens in the diaspora; ethnic minorities such as the Traveller community and our newest citizens; political parties; civil society representatives, including the voluntary and community sector; and individuals with academic and legal expertise. We would ensure that women are represented equally on the convention.

Sinn Féin believes that the convention's process must be fully public, transparent and accountable, from the discussion of its terms of reference to appointments, and from the debates to the conclusion of its recommendations. The convention must also have a mandate to consider the broadest possible scope of matters, including in particular the need for express guarantees of economic and social rights, the extension of voting rights for Northern citizens and citizens in the diaspora and the architecture required to establish a more robustly inclusive, fully representative and accountable democracy with mechanisms for direct participation.

The Government has proposed that the convention must address a specified list of issues before moving on to other matters. It is silent on what happens to the convention at the end of its lifetime if it has not addressed all the issues assigned to it. The amendment of the Constitution on this issue-by-issue basis has the potential to make the process of making amendments and the work of the convention enormously difficult and confusing. It is possible that a series of separate referendums and even amendments to amendments will be required depending on the timing of recommendations and the Government's considerations. Sinn Féin believes that the convention should have the freedom and time to produce a comprehensive proposal. It took the architects of Bunreacht na hÉireann two years to complete their work. It should not be beyond our ability to produce a comprehensive set of proposals that would be completed and passed by 2016. We could build a truly new constitution that is fit for purpose for the new Ireland of tomorrow. Such a constitution would embrace our Unionist neighbours, guarantee economic and social rights for all citizens and maximise human rights guarantees, including all of the modern equality and human rights protections that reflect the full spectrum of our international obligations and any others that are necessary to establish a rights based society.

The approach set out by the Government is minimalist, disjointed and piecemeal. It fails the mandate given to the Government, fails the process of constitutional change and fails the people. Tá seans anseo ag an Rialtas treo nua a ghlacadh, treo stairiúil a dhíríonn ar shaoránaigh an Stáit agus an oileáin seo. This is an opportunity to be bold, progressive and imaginative on behalf of all our citizens. If approached in the right way, the constitutional convention and its conclusions can inspire the people of this island, unite us in common purpose, build the nation, revive our hopes in the future and create greater national unity based on common interest, a common vision and common purpose.

The Government can either tinker around the edges of constitutional change or chart a new course for the citizens of this island. The omens are not good. The Taoiseach should pick up his manifesto and read it again. I read it this afternoon.

See this speech in context