Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The very purpose of enshrining rights such as these for citizens is that it makes those rights justiciable and places an onus on the State to vindicate them. It is disingenuous and wrong of the Government to state it is bothered by this because the Judiciary might get stroppy with us. Perhaps it is bothered by this innovation, supported by the Constitutional Convention, because it would actually force the State to honour basic entitlements of the citizen. Many of the entitlements have been trodden on for generations.

Both Fine Gael and the Labour Party supported the constitutional enshrinement of economic, social and cultural rights when in opposition. In 1999, Members from both Government parties voted to support a Labour Party Bill that sought this. How is it that the parties have changed their mind now? How is it, despite the deliberations and firm conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, that the Government thumbs its nose not only at the process, but also at its conclusions?

Over the holiday period, the Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, looked into his soul, de Valera style, and said he believed the constitutional position on women in the home ought to be put to the people in a referendum. Well done to him. Bravo. I thank him for catching up. In fact, that very matter was deliberated upon and considered by the Constitutional Convention. The issue, as with many addressed by the convention, should have had its complexities and nuances well teased out at this stage, and it should rightfully have been put to the people in a referendum. We need another Constitutional Convention. I hope it will not be as ad hocand piecemeal as its predecessor. At its core must be an understanding that when the deliberative process ends and citizens and convention as a whole make decisions, those decisions will be respected and honoured by the Government of the day.

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