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

I counted approximately five referendum proposals in the Taoiseach's comments. He promised an inclusive approach to these issues, but what has happened is that he has simply announced that the Government will decide what will happen and when it will happen. The Dáil will have no role other than to vote on what the Government decides and puts before it. That is a long way short of the democratic revolution that was promised.

Does the Taoiseach have a schedule for the proposed referendums and for when they will happen? As he knows, significant work must be done in advance. For example, the legislation must be published and the electoral commission must be established. We know from previous debacles and the children's referendum, which is still in the courts, that the referendum must be conducted properly and people must be given proper information. When people are denied a proper debate, they get angry. The Taoiseach read out the list of referendums we have had so far and, as he said, the Government got a wallop on some of them, not least because of the proposal in one of them but also because of the manner in which they were handled.

It seems the Taoiseach is saying we will have a referendum on a voting age of 16, marriage equality, blasphemy and the age at which a person can be elected to the presidency. He was not quite clear in terms of proposals pertaining to women in the Constitution and whether we will have a referendum in that regard. He mentioned a unified patent court and said we would have a referendum on that issue.

I have looked to see what scheduled legislation has been published, but not even one Bill is promised before the end of this year on any of these issues. We are running against the clock on this, in terms of the lifetime of the Government and the capacity to have these referendums. Is it proposed to have them all on the same day? I urge the Taoiseach to ensure the referendum on marriage equality is kept separate in order that people can debate the issues properly, without being clouded by other referendums. The referendums deserve careful consideration and I ask the Taoiseach to share his thoughts on the issues with the House. We may not have the time for that now, but will he share his thoughts in terms of the timing and scheduling of the referendums?

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