Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Pringle for again introducing the Bill, which seeks to incorporate in the Constitution rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and make them cognisable by the courts. As Members are aware, economic, social and cultural rights was one of two additional topics selected for consideration by the Constitutional Convention, and its recommendations are covered in the convention's eighth report. The House previously considered this issue in 2015 and it is referred to in A Programme for a Partnership Government, which includes a commitment to refer the Constitutional Convention's report to the new Oireachtas committee on housing for consideration due to the substantial raised questions on the balance of rights, proper governance and resources. I do not propose to repeat the detailed background information on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights set out by the Government when the matter first came before the House in May 2015. The Government believes it is essential the proposal is analysed in detail by the Oireachtas committee because of its potential ramifications.

I assure the House the Government is fully committed to ensuring the progressive implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in Ireland and in the context of international co-operation. A Programme for a Partnership Government clearly demonstrates a commitment to tackling the most pressing challenges Ireland faces in areas such as housing and health while continuing to focus on increasing employment throughout the country. The potential impacts of the Bill are immense and require very careful and informed consideration. The Government's response in the Dáil in January last year on the eighth report pointed out this matter was considered by the Constitutional Convention, which endorsed the proposal in principle. In turn, A Programme for a Partnership Government committed to referring the report to an Oireachtas committee given the substantial questions raised on the balance of rights, proper governance and resources. A Programme for a Partnership Government states the eighth report of the Constitutional Convention on economic, social and cultural rights recommended the State progressively realise economic, social and cultural rights subject to maximum available resources, that this duty be recognisable by the court and that specific additional rights and housing be inserted in the Constitution. Due to the substantial questions raised on the balance of rights, proper governance and resources we will refer the report to the new Oireachtas committee on housing for consideration.

While the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has not been incorporated into domestic law, the substance of a number of the rights contained in the covenant are already protected by the Constitution and legislation. Article 45 of the Constitution sets out directive principles of social policy for the general guidance of the Legislature. The Bill proposed would make these issues cognisable by the courts. There is already power by legislation to confer rights and to determine expenditure via primary and secondary legislation. As signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ireland reports periodically on its implementation before the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, most recently in 2015. Important progress continues to be made throughout the Government in giving effect to the covenant's provisions.

The issues that arise with the Bill are not about its substance. Rather there are some serious ramifications for the separation of powers, which lies at the heart of any democracy. The effective separation of powers creates a system of checks and balances between the three branches of administration to avoid concentration of power.

This fundamental tenet is at the heart of our Constitution, which created the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, each of which has its own particular functions. The primary difficulty with the proposals before the House today is that if the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were to be incorporated into the Constitution, and therefore become cognisable by the courts, the Government and the Oireachtas would give up the ultimate responsibility for making decisions on the allocated limit of public resources. Decisions on resource allocation and taxation issues are at the heart of politics in a democracy and are the essence of the choices that political parties offer when seeking support from their voters. To put the ultimate responsibility for these choices beyond the control of Government and the Dáil could insulate them from the wishes of the electorate. Candidates offer different political visions and put forward different policy priorities for society to the people at election time. The voters make their choices known when they exercise their democratic right to select who will represent them in the Dáil and ultimately who will form a Government and make decisions about public policy priorities. As elected representatives, we remain answerable to the people.

The Constitution is the bedrock of our legal system and it sets out the fundamental principles by which we are governed. However, it does not comprise the entirety of our law but is reinforced and augmented by legislation passed by the Oireachtas. It is, therefore, not the only means we have of giving legal effect to commitments and obligations we have entered into when acceding to international treaties and agreements. While the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights has not been incorporated into domestic law, the substance of a number of rights contained in the covenant is protected by the Constitution and by legislation, reflecting the priority successive Governments have attached to these policy areas. The Government ensures that the State's obligations to implement the covenant are met through policies aimed at improving the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including by fighting persistent poverty and social exclusion.

Ireland implements these policies in a number of ways. The rights of the family, based on marriage, are protected by Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution and the right to education, including free primary care education, is protected by Article 42. The right to freedom of association, including membership of trade unions, is guaranteed by Article 40.6.1° of the Constitution, and the right to work and earn a livelihood is guaranteed as an unnumerated personal right under Article 40.3 of the Constitution. Ireland signed the optional protocol to the covenant in 2012, thus reaffirming our commitment to the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights. The Department is currently consulting with all relevant Departments on the measures necessary to enable us to move to ratification.

Among the many remarkable achievements of the past few years, we can all take pride in the fact that Ireland was the first country in the world to achieve marriage equality through a public vote. The large majority by which the 2015 referendum was passed shows how committed Ireland is both as a State and as a people to equality and to promoting the rights of our LGBTI community. More recently, the Taoiseach, with the support of all parties in the House, announced the recognition of Travellers as an ethnic minority on 1 March. Following this historic step, we are putting the finishing touches to a new Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy, which will be completed over the coming weeks. Ireland has come a significant way in recent times with the matter of mental health and we have turned from a country that did not believe in recovery or prevention to our sole focus being on a recovery-based model and prevention. While we have difficulties with staffing levels, we are beginning to see change with it. Throughout Ireland's economic crisis, we prioritised protecting the most vulnerable in society. In 2016, the three key areas of health, education and social protection accounted for over 80% of gross Voted current expenditure. As set out in the expenditure report 2017, real increases to public spending can continue to be made on a substantial basis to deliver both on economic priorities and also on the social goals for a fairer and more inclusive society.

As we look forward to a period of more economic stability and growth, we will pursue our commitment to protect our most vulnerable and to provide a fair and just society for all. The promotion of human rights will remain as a central focus to our domestic and foreign policies and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to realise our common goals and to make our human rights obligations and aspirations a reality.

As the Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution is being referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government for consideration, I ask the House to reject the Bill to allow us to fulfil our commitment in the programme for Government, having regard to the serious issues involved. I thank Deputy Pringle for having provided the opportunity to debate these important issues.

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