Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 June 2014
104. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Taoiseach when the Government will respond to the remaining Constitutional Convention reports; the Departments which will deal with each area; if an additional task force on specific topics will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26582/14]
View answer105. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Taoiseach the outstanding reports from the Constitutional Convention that will be discussed in the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26683/14]
View answer116. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Taoiseach when and how he will respond to each of the outstanding recommendations of the Constitutional Convention; and the Government Department that has responsibility for each recommendation. [27182/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 104, 105 and 116 together.
The Convention on the Constitution published a total of nine reports. The Government is committed to responding to each report in the Oireachtas and, if accepting a recommendation for an amendment of the Constitution, to indicating the timescale it envisages for any related referendum.
The Government has responded in the Dáil to the first three reports of the Convention. The fourth report dealt mainly with electoral matters and these are for the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; the remaining aspects are for my Department. The Government has already announced that it has accepted the recommendation in the fourth report that an Electoral Commission be established.
The fifth report deals with the question of votes in Presidential elections for citizens living outside the State and is being considered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, while the sixth report, on removal of the mention of blasphemy in the Constitution, is being considered by the Department of Justice and Equality.
The seventh, eighth and ninth reports respectively contain recommendations concerning Dáil reform, inclusion of certain rights in the Constitution, and items that might be considered by a further Convention if it were decided to establish one. Dáil reform is, as the Deputies will be aware, led from my Department, while the other items would obviously require consideration by a number of Departments.
The Government hopes to respond to the fourth, fifth and sixth reports in the near future and to the later reports in the autumn. With regard to the establishment of task forces, I do not propose to anticipate the outcome of the Government’s deliberations on the reports.
