Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat i d'oifig nua. Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis seo labhairt ar an rún atá os comhair na Dála anocht. Baineann an rún leis an Tionól Saoránach atá beartaithe.

All mechanisms by which citizens can have further opportunities to participate in democratic processes should be welcomed and commended. There have been a number of successful endeavours in that regard, in particular our citizens initiative in 2011, which is clearly one on which the Government's proposal is modelled. Citizens' assemblies have proven successful in many other states including, for example, Canada. I do not doubt that a similar proposal in this State would prove useful. That said, we had a deliberative assembly, the Constitutional Convention, that sat from December 2012 to March 2014 and worked well. Sinn Féin wanted to see a more powerful convention with more teeth, but we went with the Government's proposal. I was lucky to be one of the participants and attended every session except one. The convention, its chair and secretariat and, in particular, the citizen delegates did an excellent job and produced a series of first-class reports and recommendations. It was an uplifting and useful process for everyone involved.

Sinn Féin's amendment calls for the convention to be reconvened with a new remit. Among the issues set by the Government, it should examine matters that affect the entire island in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum as well as recommendations still outstanding from the previous convention, including that on political reform. I made our position clear to the Taoiseach when I wrote to him just before he took a memo on the current proposal to the Cabinet, but we still do not have an explanation as to why he opted for a different model and did not take our suggestions on board. I also encouraged him to consider the appointment of elected representatives, as was the case previously. One reason for the convention working so well was that political representatives worked alongside citizens in an holistic way. Given its all-island structure, it had members from the Assembly, which was positive. However, that approach is being abandoned under the current proposal.

Sinn Féin's opinion on the eighth amendment is clear and the broad consensus in the Dáil and outside is that it needs to be repealed. We do not believe that there needs to be a further delay on such an urgent issue. Accordingly, our amendment proposes that the convention report on this issue within two months and that the report be dealt with by the Houses within one month. Anything longer would be unacceptable.

It is worth remembering that the Government has failed to implement many of the recommendations of the previous convention. A range of constitutional changes were proposed, including the extension of voting rights to citizens in the North and to members of the diaspora in respect of presidential elections. The Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora, Deputy McHugh, made remarks in recent days indicating that a referendum on voting rights for the diaspora might be held next year, but he made no mention of citizens in the North. It would be odd if an Irish passport holder from Derry, Belfast, Fermanagh or Tyrone got a vote after moving to London but would not get one if he or she stayed at home. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy English, might clarify the position before the debate concludes.

The convention proposed referendums to remove from the Constitution the offence of blasphemy and to provide a constitutional right to housing. A proposal was also made for a referendum on the article covering a woman’s life within the home. A new convention should be allowed to give its views as to when these proposals should be put to the people. The Constitutional Convention worked, so why change it? I urge all Deputies to support amendment No. 4, which proposes to convene a new convention to provide for a more robust and deliberative forum and allow for more issues to be addressed than would the Government’s proposal.

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