Dr. Alan Renwick:

I will cite two additional things regarding campaign conduct. Dr. Kenny referred to the need for the modernisation of rules to be able to cope with the reality of digital campaigning today. That is certainly very important in the UK. There is essentially no regulation of online campaigning in the UK now, which is rather problematic. I will comment on some additional elements. Dr. Kenny referred to information made available during campaigns. One difference between referendums in Ireland and the UK is that Ireland has referendum commissions which provide information during referendum campaigns. There is no equivalent in the UK.

In the 1998 referendums of course all voters in Northern Ireland received a copy of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. There is, however, no provision in law for something equivalent to that to happen in any future referendums in the UK. It would seem imperative to us that there be proper information provision during these referendums. Indeed, we raised the question of whether the approach taken by referendum commissions in Ireland is sufficient for a choice such as this one. The referendum commissions, as the members of the committee will know much better than I do, have tended to focus specifically on the constitutional implications, that is, the legal change implied by the amendment under consideration, and to not go into the further implications of the change being proposed. For many voters though, the issues which really matter concern healthcare and education provision, and all these sorts of additional features, which in all probability would not be included in any constitutional amendment.

In both jurisdictions, the issue of information needs to be thought about carefully.

The other point I would make about campaign conduct rules is that there is a huge difference between Ireland and the UK in the principles underpinning the regulation of campaign spending. The UK has a cap on total spending by campaign groups but not on donations; Ireland has caps on donations but not on total spending. We have begun to think in our work about the scope for gaming the system that could arise from the difference in rules. It is an area we have not truly bottomed out in in our thinking. We need to consider it further.

Senator McGahon asked about the role of Government during the campaign. Both the UK and Ireland have rules preventing Government campaigning, so that is one area of consistency between the jurisdictions in the rules. The details are different but in both jurisdictions it is not possible for taxpayers' money to be spent on campaigning in the course of the campaign. There is an additional question about whether there are further provisions under the Belfast Good Friday Agreement that would restrict the Governments from being involved in the campaign, in particular the phrase "without external impediment" in the agreement. There is discussion in the group as to the precise interpretation of that phrase. Dr. Kenny and Professor McCrudden will correct me if I am wrong but I think our lawyers are in agreement that, at least in law, those words clearly prevent the UK Government from refusing to hold a referendum and prevent any attempt to manipulate or skew the result. However, those words in themselves do not imply that the UK Government cannot participate or express a view in this process.

There are other views on that question and if Professor Brendan O'Leary were here he would likely offer a different perspective. We are keen to hear members' thoughts if anyone here would like to express a view on that.