Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Ombudsman has submitted to me a range of proposals for reforms to his office and how it operates. I have asked my Department to examine these matters and report to me after further consultation with the Ombudsman.

I listened with interest to the Ombudsman's speech at the IPA conference to celebrate the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman 30 years ago, in which he set out the basis for some of these proposals, including the constitutional issue referred to in the Deputy's question.

The Deputy will note that under the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, which we piloted through the Houses in recent times, there was a significant expansion of the powers and remit of the Ombudsman. This represented the most substantial extension in over three decades in the powers of the Ombudsman and his remit, which will significantly enhance the accountability of public bodies to citizens.

As part of the review of the proposals, it will be important to examine the impact and effectiveness of the reforms to date and the progress made by the Office of the Ombudsman in implementing the new powers and fulfilling the expanded mandate given to him by the Oireachtas.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has already implemented a substantial programme of constitutional reform. Six referendums have been held since the Government took office. Five of these referendums arose directly from commitments in the programme for Government. The programme for Government has also committed to the establishment of the Constitutional Convention to examine a range of constitutional issues. In response to recommendations in the first three reports of the convention, we have announced that we will bring forward proposals for referendums on marriage equality, reducing the voting age to 16 years and reducing the eligibility age for candidates for President to 21 years. The Government announced that it would also bring forward proposals for a referendum on the removal from the Constitution of the offence of blasphemy. In July 2014, the Government agreed to hold a referendum on the ratification of the international agreement on a unified patent court and approved the drafting of the constitutional amendment Bill for the referendum.

A range of constitutional issues are at play and we should debate, perhaps in the House, how these can be sequenced in order that we can set priorities for what should be done without overwhelming the people in any proposals to amend what is a very precious document to most citizens.

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