Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important legislation, the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) Bill 2014. I compliment Deputy Pringle on bringing forward the Bill. Like Deputy Pringle, I compliment the work of the economic, social and cultural rights initiative, a coalition of 60 non-governmental organisations and community groups. The groups include Amnesty International and the Mercy Law Resource Centre, under the chair of Aiden Lloyd, who has been advocating for justice and constitutional protection of economic social and cultural rights for some time. I thank them for their input to this Bill and the debate.

The purpose of the Bill, as Deputy Pringle said, is to amend Article 45 of the Constitution by adding to the end of that article a provision stating that the State, "shall progressively realise, subject to its maximum available resources and without discrimination, the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and that this duty is cognisable by the courts". Specifically, these rights include: the right to work; the right to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to form trade unions and join trade unions of choice; the right to social security; the right to the widest possible protection and assistance for the family; the right to an adequate standard of living for the family, including adequate food, clothing, housing and the continuous improvement of living conditions; the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the right to education; and the right to take part in cultural life.

It has been almost 40 years since Ireland ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1976 but these rights have still not been enshrined in our Constitution. In fact, since 1976 the UN committee responsible for the implementation has written to the Government on numerous occasions asking that this measure be implemented. As signatories to the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights we are obliged to respect, protect and fulfil these rights.

Bunreacht na hÉireann was drafted and approved at a time when economic, social and cultural rights had not achieved the recognition and profile they now enjoy regionally, in international human rights instruments and in other constitutions throughout the world. In Article 45 of the Constitution relating to directive principles of social policy, the drafters of Bunreacht na hÉireann set out their broader vision for social policy and a fair and equal Irish society by declaring: "The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the whole people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice and charity shall inform all the institutions of the national life." While our Constitution protects, to some extent, some economic, social and cultural rights generally, including rights relating to employment law, housing law, social security and social assistance, these are not enshrined in our Constitution. Furthermore, although the courts have confirmed that a limited number of these rights are protected under the Constitution, they have stopped short of recognising further far-reaching socio-economic rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living, as implicit in the Constitution. On a basic level this means that if any of these rights are violated, there is no effective legal remedy.

The Constitution is the fundamental legal document of the State. It sets out how Ireland should be governed and the rights of its citizens. The Constitution should give explicit recognition to all human rights. Article 45 provides us with a general aspirational comment about policy but only the Oireachtas is entitled to decide how these rights are implemented.

By enshrining these rights in the Constitution, we would ensure that the rights of the citizens of Ireland are above the politics of the day, and that every Government of Ireland delivers on its obligation to respect, protect and fulfil these rights as best it can within the means available to it. Inserting these rights in the Constitution would make governments more accountable to citizens and make justice more accessible to them. It is hoped that these new rights would lead to the creation of a fairer and more equal society. In particular, it would strengthen the rights of the most vulnerable and ensure basic minimum standards for all members of society.

The citizens of Ireland, as represented by the Convention on the Constitution, overwhelmingly recommended that these rights should be enshrined in the Constitution in its report of February 2014, and I want to add my voice to that. There is also public support for the introduction of these rights but, of course, we are still waiting for the Government to respond to the Constitutional Convention's report on these rights. There is even the political will for the introduction of these rights. As Deputy Pringle said, Deputy Ruairí Quinn introduced a Bill like this in 2000 and, more recently, Deputy Kevin Humphreys introduced a very similar Bill in 2012. The Government will this evening have an opportunity to show its support by voting with Deputy Pringle on this Bill.

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