Willie O'Dea
Ceist:2 Mr. O'Dea asked the Taoiseach if the composition and method of electing Members to both Houses of the Oireachtas will be considered by the committee which is being established to review the Constitution. [7885/95]
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Review of Constitution.
Mary Harney
Ceist:3 Miss Harney asked the Taoiseach when he will announce the composition of the expert group on the Constitution; when the first meeting will be held; and the deadline for its final report to the Government. [7925/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together.
The terms of reference of the Review Group will be—
to review the Constitution, and in the light of this review, to establish those areas where constitutional change may be desirable or necessary, with a view to assisting the all-Party Committee on the Constitution, to be established by the Oireachtas, in its work. In their review, the group should take into account that certain constitutional matters i.e. Articles 2 and 3, Divorce, the Right to Bail, Cabinet Confidentiality and Votes for Emigrants are the subject of separate consideration.
The Minister for the Environment will very shortly be bringing forward a Bill providing for the election of three members of the Seanad by Irish emigrants. Other than that, the group is free to examine whatever aspects of composition and method of election of Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas that they think fit.
The full membership of the review group is as follows: Dr. Thomas K. Whitaker (Chairman); Mr. David Byrne, S.C.; Dr. Alpha Connelly, Research Counsellor, Law Reform Commission; Ms Mary Finlay, S.C.; Mr. Dermot Gleeson, S.C., Attorney General; Mr. James Hamilton, Legal Assistant, Attorney General's office; Mr. Mahon Hayes, retiring Permanent Representative of Ireland at the United Nations; Mr. Gerard Hogan, B.L.; Professor Áine Hyland, Professor of Education, UCC; Dr. Finola Kennedy, Economist; Professor Michael Laver, Professor of Political Science, TCD; Dr. Kathleen Lynch, Co-ordinator, Equality Studies Centre, UCD; Mr. Diarmaid McGuinness, B.L.; Mr. Dermot Nally, former Secretary to the Government, and Dr. Blathna Ruane, B.L.
The review group will have a year to complete its work. To enable the all-party Oireachtas committee to start work early in 1996, the group is being requested to furnish, by the end of this calendar year, provisional observations on any range of matters which may then be at an advanced stage of consideration.
Copies of the Government Press Release of 27 April 1995, setting out the terms of reference, background, membership and secretariat arrangements of the Constitution Review Group are being placed in the Oireachtas Library and arrangements are being made to convene the first meeting of the group on 11 May 1995.
I understand that part of the committee's remit will be to review the electoral system. Is it the case that matters relating to bail and Cabinet confidentiality would be outside the remit of the committee? Has the Government, collectively, any views on the question of changing the electoral system for election to Dáil Éireann to what has been most often mooted, that is, single seat constituencies? Has the Government any views on the question of universal suffrage for elections to the Seanad? If the committee makes recommendations, what status will those recommendations have, and is the Government committed to implementing them? Further, will it be in a position to implement such recommendations?
The Government will most certainly be in a position to implement any recommendations it wishes. However, the recommendations will be those of the expert group and will be going to an all-party committee. The Government will be in no way committed to implementing any of these recommendations, nor will any of the individual Government parties. They will be discussed in a normal way within the all-party group. The Government will then come to final decisions on whatever matters it wishes in the light of the deliberations and report of the group. As to the question of the electoral system, that is not excluded from the terms of reference but there is no specific request to the committee to deal with that matter any more than there is to deal with any other matter in the Constitution. It will be open to the group and, subsequently, to the Oireachtas committee, to decide which matters in the Constitution they wish to make recommendations about and which they recommend should be left alone.
What about the questions of bail and Cabinet confidentiality?
We have asked the group to take into account the fact that these are being dealt with separately.
I asked the Taoiseach earlier this year to consult with Opposition parties before putting the names together. I thank him for so doing, although I appreciate nobody was there on a party political basis. Has the Government since taking office consulted with any party in Opposition on the holding of the forthcoming divorce referendum?
My understanding is that there has been ongoing contact between the Minister for Equality and Law Reform and other parties. Certainly it is the Government's intention to have concrete consultations with Opposition parties at a time when this would be most fruitful, namely, when it is coming close to a conclusion on its own views. I said this already in the House this morning.
I understand the Government has formally consulted with one party in Opposition since taking office. As somebody very committed to the passing of the divorce legislation, I consider it unfortunate that the announcement was made last night. It is very unhelpful. The Government cannot expect to have an all-party approach if it comes to the table with a fait accompli which, I believe, is the Government's way of handling this matter. I wish to register my protest and that of my party that we have not been consulted on the matter since this Government took office.
I think the Deputy is under a misapprehension. No final conclusions have been reached on this matter by the Cabinet. I chose my words carefully on the Order of Business. The Government's view is crystallising around a certain possible course of action but it is not finalised at this stage. All that was done last night was to alert public opinion and the Opposition to the options that the Government has in mind and give an indication of a general kind as to the likely choice the Government will make within those options. I stress that no final decision of any kind has been taken by the Cabinet on the matter of the wording that is to be put to the people. I want to further reiterate the commitment of the Government to engage in constructive consultation with the Opposition parties on this matter. I regard that as very important and I assure the Deputy that nothing that has happened to date is to be in any sense taken as pre-empting or limiting discussions with Opposition parties.
I interrupted Deputy Harney in the middle of a question to clarify what I thought was a misapprehension and prevented her from asking a second question.
I appreciate what the Taoiseach has said because I was very annoyed this morning when I read the reports. We need to learn lessons from what happened in this country in the early 1980s. More important, the divorce referendum will be in grave difficulty if there is not an all-party approach from the beginning. I am, therefore, delighted that the Taoiseach has given an assurance that that will be the approach because that was not my understanding from what I read earlier today.
The meeting which the Minister, Deputy Taylor, had with the Leader of my party was in the nature of an informal discussion. I agree with Deputy Harney that unless there is an all-party consensus, the divorce referendum will be in difficulty. I am of the opinion that the passage of this referendum will be extremely tight so the greater the all-party consensus the better.
I concur with that. It is highly desirable that there should be an all-party approach. We are all politicians with our own different points of view and I cannot, therefore, guarantee that we will reach final and complete agreement on everything. However, we will be seeking to do so. That will be the object of the consultation but whether we achieve it remains to be seen, and there are others apart from the Government who will have responsibility in that regard.
Recently the Taoiseach enumerated a number of areas which are excluded from the remit of the committee that has been set up. I appreciate the reasons for the exclusion of Articles 2 and 3, but will the Taoiseach elaborate on the reasons other areas have been excluded from examination?
I refer the Deputy to what I said in the original reply which was to the effect that it is not a question of excluding any matter. The following is a quotation from the terms of reference of the body: "In their review the group should take into account that certain constitutional matters, i.e. Articles 2 and 3, divorce, the right to bail, Cabinet confidentiality and votes for emigrants are the subject of separate consideration." It is sensibly drawn to the attention of the committee that these matters are being dealt with separately.
Is the Taoiseach confident that there is all-party consensus within Government on the issue of the divorce referendum? The Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Taylor, was definite about the approach he wished to take in regard to the referendum. If the Taoiseach is looking for all-party consensus, he should first look within Government. I agree that unless there is consensus we will not have the successful conclusion we are all seeking to the divorce referendum.
A view is crystallising within Cabinet as to the best course of action to take but no final decision has been taken by it on the form of this referendum. It is a matter for the Cabinet as a whole to make a decision on that issue and it will do so.