Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.

The referendum on the reform treaty will take place this year. No decision has yet been taken on the date of the referendum but it will be before the summer recess.

As the Deputies are aware, the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2007 was published in February 2007 and contained the Government's proposal to amend the Constitution in relation to children. The programme for Government of June 2007 committed to deepening consensus on the issue and, to this end, the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children was established in November 2007 to report back within four months on the proposals set out in the Bill. The Government is awaiting the outcome of the deliberations of the joint committee in order that an amendment to the Constitution in relation to children based on all-party consensus can be put to the people as soon as possible. However, it is increasingly unlikely that the committee will be in a position to conclude its deliberations within this timescale. Accordingly, it is now probable that a referendum on children will not take place until 2009.

The Government has acted on most of the key recommendations that have emanated from earlier reports of the All-Party Committee on the Constitution. In all, the two previous Governments brought forward ten referenda. The Government will avail of appropriate opportunities to take forward further recommendations of the all-party committee. The complexities involved in holding a referendum require that careful consideration be given to the frequency with which referenda can realistically be held and the significance of the issues in question. Neither I nor my Department is responsible for the implementation of all the recommendations of the joint committee. The committee has done fine work and produced ten reports that form a very useful repository of informed work on aspects of the Constitution. As I said, many recommendations have been acted upon and many more continue to be under active consideration by the relevant Minister or Department. The committee does not report to me. The reports are published and the recommendations made for all. The terms of reference stated members of the committee should report on their work to their party leaders. As issues arise, they will be dealt with appropriately and the valuable information contained in the reports will be availed of. If there is a particular recommendation of interest to Deputies, I suggest they contact or table a parliamentary question to the relevant Minister.

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