I welcome members to the first substantive meeting of the Joint Committee on the Constitution. I pay tribute to the very valuable work done by our predecessors on the All-Party Committee on the Constitution and I acknowledge the sterling contribution made by Senator O'Donovan as Chairperson and his fellow members of the committee. I also pay tribute to all former Chairpersons, including Deputy Jim O'Keeffe, for advancing the important work of examining the detail of our Constitution with a view to making such changes or refinements as may, in the future, be considered necessary.
I also mention Dr. Jim O'Donnell, who was a very good and able adviser to the committee. I understand he was the linchpin in ensuring the all-party committee fulfilled its remit in a highly professional manner. I look forward with confidence to continuing in that tradition of assiduous attention to the subtle nuances and possibilities thrown up by the text of the Constitution, which has served us so well over the years.
Our purpose today is to consider a number of items. No. 1 is the current work on hand, arising from the work of the previous All-Party Committee on the Constitution and, in particular, the briefing documentation on freedom of expression, which has been circulated to members. No. 2 is consideration of the way forward in tracking the structure set by the constitutional review group and any other business.
A booklet has been circulated to members with information including the briefing on freedom of expression. I appreciate members receive so much information through the post and in their pigeonholes that it is not easy to go through everything but I hope they have had an opportunity to look through this booklet. Dr. Gerard Hogan, the renowned constitutional barrister, has put together a draft outline report on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. The part dealing with freedom of expression which appears to be the major part of the work was recently circulated to members. It extends to 61 pages and is a concise analysis of the paragraph in the Constitution on the general freedom of expression. The work on the other two parts, freedom of assembly and freedom of association, together take up only 42 pages.
In the Constitution freedom of expression is subject to public order and morality, and it is that wording which gives rise to the discussion and argument. There is a great deal of case law on the proportionality to be used and whether the relevant words should be removed. In the first instance, we are looking at the paragraph on freedom of expression, the question of whether it should be qualified and is in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Article 10 which deals with the issue.