Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The reason I say that is that a number of us here have engaged in discussion in private in good faith to get to a position where we could go into public session. There are many things that I would have liked to have said in public session that we did agree in private session but I do want to put on the record that I did submit a motion that the committee recommend the holding of a referendum to repeal Article 40.3.3° of Bunreacht na hÉireann, as did other members of the committee who may wish to state that on the public record. We recognise that there were other members of the committee who in good faith did not want to have to vote on the issue this evening or this week. In good faith we accepted that because we do want to reach as much consensus as we can in the committee. That does not change my position, which is expressed in my motion, but it does mean that we are giving the time we have been asked to give. That now has to go on the public record because, effectively, there is so much going out in public anyway that we are talking about in private that I do think it is important that we are all able to put our positions. Clearly, I am not going to push that motion today and we have agreed a procedure. However, I wish to address the issue of the various options that are before us.

There are three that deserve consideration, one being repeal simpliciter, which is the first option, and the second being No. 3, which is repeal with accompanying legislation, although I do have a bit of a problem with the title of that which is "repeal based on legislation published in tandem with the referendum", because the legal advice in private indicates that there would be no legal obligation on the Oireachtas to enact that legislation. However, I think it is helpful to the public politically if people have some idea what legislation the Government is proposing side by side with putting the question to the people by way of referendum. The third option which I consider to be worth considering is the sixth option, namely, repeal and replace with a provision conferring exclusive power on the Oireachtas to regulate, but I do have a difficulty with that one because there would be an issue with the public because we would be seen to be taking away the power of the Judiciary and taking the power exclusively into the hands of the Oireachtas. It is a simpler way to accept what is the constitutional convention anyway that the Oireachtas has the power to legislate once it is within the various articles of the Constitution. While that is technically the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly, I do think there might be an issue with it. That is something we teased out in private and I am happy to put that much on the record.

We have six options and I think we have made a decision. I was one of the people who campaigned in 1983 against putting Article 40.3.3° into the Constitution, or at least the original amendment which has subsequently been changed slightly.

I wish to record my satisfaction that, as a committee, we have at least voted to recommend that it should no longer stand as is. As soon as possible, we should move to make a recommendation on what would be put to the people and, side by side with that, consider the Citizens' Assembly's various recommendations.