John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have an unusual request for the Leader. I would like him to ask the Taoiseach if the Government would consider the wisdom of introducing an oath of allegiance to the Constitution for all Members of the Oireachtas. We must be one of the few parliaments in the world that does not have such an oath. We have a tradition of having large numbers of people in this country who did not respect the Constitution or recognise the Republic. It still pains me to hear people referring to the State as the Twenty-six Counties or the Free State and, though not being elected to the House, saying they are elected representatives of a real republic and not some imaginary republic.

I would have let this matter lie because I understand there are various historical sensitivities associated with the issue. More recently, however, it has come to light that there are Members of both Houses who advocate overthrowing our Constitution. There are people who suggest that we should ignore the wishes of the people in solemn constitutional referenda, two of which have given a particular verdict on a particular issue of public policy which will come before us in the near future.

It is one thing for alleged legal and constitutional experts to sit at public hearings here and basically tell parliamentarians to ignore the Supreme Court and referenda and answer instead to a higher authority. In their personal lives, people may believe that they do answer to higher authorities, but when Members attend the Dáil or Seanad to represent those who elected them, there is no higher authority. The highest authority we should recognise is our Constitution.

I believe that over the next couple of months, some people will be advocating a gentle little Irish-style coup. There will not be tanks on Leinster Lawn, but they are people who are basically thumbing their noses at Bunreacht na hÉireann and saying we should ignore it. Therefore, the Leader should ask the Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues to consider if it might be wise at some stage to bring ourselves into line with other mature democracies and have a basic oath of loyalty to Bunreacht na hÉireann by those who are elected in accordance with that Constitution to serve and represent the people.