Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

We have a mandate to enact laws only on foot of our position under the Constitution. The first canon of construction of any law promulgated by the President after being passed by these two Houses is that it should be construed in a constitutional way. Throughout the Constitution, from the preamble on, are values of reasonableness, constitutional justice and charity. The fundamental rule of construction in any perusal by any court or an administrator of a law is that they must interpret it in a constitutional way. If they give any Act a construction which flouts people's constitutional rights or is at variance with constitutional values, the courts are there to correct them. In those circumstances, this subsection provides:

Where–

(a) it appears to the Commissioner that an applicant is failing in his or her duty to co-operate with the Commissioner or to furnish information relevant to his or her application for declaration, or