Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Coskeran. I know him well; he is from my county. We built up a good relationship with Tipperary County Council, which I think we should retain. Perhaps we should do the same with other councils as well. There are something like 860 estates throughout the country that are in the same sort of situation that Mr. Coskeran and his family were caught up in. It would be a good practice by this committee to make contact with councils to see whether we can resolve issues like we have on behalf of Mr. Coskeran. The petition is closed. I again thank the staff for all the work they did on it.

No. P00006/22 relates to by-elections and is from Mr. John O'Malley, who states:

The onus is on representatives elected to the Dáil/Seanad to ensure that the Democratic Process in relation to Dáil Elections is compliant with the Constitution. I am now asking you to amend legislation to make Bye/By Elections compliant with the current Constitution, to ensure that the wishes of the electorate are adhered to for the duration of the Dáil. This can quite easily be done by amending ("It is necessary for the minutiae of many legislative provisions to be formulated, and indeed revised and updated, following the enactment of the principal law") legislation similar to the system applied to EU and Council/Corporations elections where the electorate decisions are adhered to during the duration of the said bodies tenure even though such bodies electoral systems are not enshrined in the Constitution. Or alternately will you consider getting an all-party committee to examine same.

Or if you persist with the current legislation, are you going to organise a Referendum? If you are in any doubt, see, See Crotty v. An Taoiseach 1987. "It is not within the competence of the Government, or indeed the Oireachtas to free themselves from the constraints of the Constitution.

The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Do members have any views or is that agreed?