Professor Siobhán Mullally:

I might just take the right to education as in the example of the Sinnott case, where Article 41.2 was also in play. The then Justice Susan Denham gave a very strong dissenting judgment in this case. There will always be dispute around the interpretation of a constitutional provision, its scope and limits, and also with regard to fair trial. We cannot have certainty on that point.

With regard to the allocation of resources, the role of the Constitution is to provide a framework within which rights can be adjudicated and the obligations of the State set out in broad terms. The details will be dealt with in social welfare legislation, as they are currently. There is, for example, an obligation to avoid destitution. As the Chief Commissioner said, we already have extensive legislation around social welfare, childcare payments etc. and these will continue. The point of this, however, is to ensure that there is a constitutional framework that sets a positive obligation on the State to support the role of carers and to support that function as a public good in the context of family relationships. There will always be disputes around the limits of that-----