Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Right now, Sinn Féin should surely welcome amendment No. 3 because it is in line with its own proposal here tonight.

There is a mistake in Deputy Donnelly's amendment, which was ruled out of order, that would make it unworkable. It says that the Government shall no more than three months after the passing of this Act introduce a constitutional amendment Bill seeking to amend the Constitution. It then says that the amendment of the Constitution effected by the Act shall be called the thirty-fourth amendment of the Constitution but quite clearly, the Act would not amend the Constitution and the amendment proposed by Deputy Donnelly contains a mistake. It shows the problems one faces when one tries to come up with an amendment to the Constitution. There is a mistake in what is proposed before us tonight and we would be very foolish to pass it.

In respect of the views of the public on this, I would be very concerned if we proposed to have a constitutional referendum. I am not the only one. Other members of the public who are not in here, who have no vested interest and who are very attached to State assets have expressed the same concern I hold. My concern is that if one was to amend the Constitution to enshrine Irish Water in public ownership, this would then set the bar too high for State assets generally. The implication would then be that any other asset that is not in the Constitution is not protected in the same way as Irish Water and there would basically be a hierarchy of State assets.

I do not think anyone here campaigned about a constitutional referendum relating to Irish Water in the general election. That being said, the majority of voters-----

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