Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My understanding was that the committee must do a full report on the constitutional position and the Government would obviously await the fuller consideration by this committee. I put this out there, as I spoke to the Chair beforehand. My experience of the eighth amendment is that the Oireachtas committee looked at that specific recommendation from a citizens' assembly, amended it to a certain extent within the committee, did not have unanimity in the committee, but a majority of the committee was able to vote positively for the formula of words that eventually became the proposition that was put to the people and one had a degree of Oireachtas support around it.

My preference would be that one would have as great a degree of Oireachtas consensus as possible around the wording on this. That could be achieved through this committee because I understand the committee has some further work. I have looked at the interim report and that tells me it is complex. Personally, the more simply we keep it, the better. From a constitutional perspective, we must be mindful of existing jurisprudence on these issues. There are two fundamental ways of evolving a constitution: through judicial interpretation, which has been one of the more radical features of the Constitution since 1937, which is understated but which has been the great revolution in terms of evolving constitutional rights; and amendment by the people in the form of a referendum. My understanding is the committee's work may be completed by the end of the year. Therefore, if the committee can bring a definitive conclusion and certainty from a constitutional perspective to the proposals, the Government would be anxious to progress this in 2023.

I am reluctant to give a specific timeline. There are a number of elements to this. We must get it right, but also we must give time to the Referendum Commission. Historically, the Referendum Commission gets annoyed when it is shoehorned into a particular narrow timeframe. It has obligations, in terms of timelines in presenting the proposals and giving full information to the people. That is the only qualification I would put in.

I would be anxious to get on with it as quickly as we possibly can. Various Oireachtas committees have looked at this in the past and it has not been proceeded with.