David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I thank Senator Norris for tabling this important motion which we support and we ask the Government to also support it. I wish to make a number of broad remarks about the constitutional convention. Senator Gilroy mentioned the fact that the parameters have been set by the Government and he is correct. He then went on to state that perhaps Senator Norris has missed the boat. The Government has missed the boat in my view in a number of areas by not including what are very important topics in the constitutional convention. Many people would see it as a very big missed opportunity. The Government has limited the convention too much to allow it to have any real effect. If we are to be honest, many of the issues it will discuss are uncontroversial. It is possible that some of the outcomes are already predetermined and the matter will end up being a sideshow. In reality it should have been something completely different. It should have been a real opportunity for the State to have a conversation about the type of Republic that we live in and how it has dealt with the social, economic and human rights which are important to many of us. That could have been central to any discussion on a new Constitution or new Republic, which many people talk about. When it gets down to it we will have watered down what the convention could and should have done.

The convention is a missed opportunity. All of the parties will engage within the set parameters and once the convention has been set up there will be a responsibility placed on us to engage. We must be honest and state that the Government has missed the boat for whatever reason, which is deeply regrettable.

The role of the President of Ireland is an important and symbolic one. A number of previous Senators mentioned that many candidates were put through the ringer during the last presidential campaign, not just the two candidates mentioned by Senator Mooney. I can say that Martin McGuinness sometimes got fair and unfair criticism from the media.