Enda Kenny
Ceist:9 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the position in respect of the implementation of the recommendations of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15619/02]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - Constitutional Amendments.
Ruairí Quinn
Ceist:10 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the constitutional amendments, if any, the Government proposes to bring forward during the lifetime of this Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16383/02]
Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:11 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Taoiseach the proposals he has to amend the Constitution. [16457/02]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:12 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach the Government's proposals to amend the Constitution during the lifetime of the 29th Dáil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18119/02]
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Ceist:13 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach his further proposals to amend the Constitution; and if amendments are planned arising from the recommendations of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, specifically in relation to representation in the Oireachtas for citizens from the Six Counties. [19065/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together.
There are no plans to hold further referendums. To date a number of the recommendations made by the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution have been acted on. The more important recommendations in its sixth report in relation to the Referendum Commission and local government have also been implemented. The committee's recommendations on the abolition of reference to the death penalty in the Constitution was put to the people on 7 June 2001 and were passed, along with the establishment of an International Criminal Court on that same day.
Deputies will also be aware that the fourth report of the committee – on the courts and the Judiciary – recommended the establishment of a judicial council. It was hoped to include this serious issue in the referendums to be held on 7 June 2001. However, it was not possible to get all-party agreement on this matter. With regard to the recommendations in the seventh report of the committee, at my request the Government Chief Whip has initiated consultations with political parties concerning participation in the Oireachtas by Northern Ireland representatives.
The Taoiseach will recall that the all-party committee made a number of important recommendations, one of which was to strengthen the role of the Seanad in respect of Northern Ireland and cross-Border relations in general. The essential point of that recommendation was that four representatives should be appointed to the Seanad by the Taoiseach. Would the Taoiseach consider bringing forward some of these changes, in particular to assist the peace process and to help North-South co-operation in general?
There are two reports, the one to which the Deputy referred and an earlier, more detailed one on Seanad reform, and I am in favour of examining both. I have asked my colleagues in the Seanad to start the process of examining these issues. We would have to consider both reports together because the balance of the original set-up of the Seanad in terms of the Taoiseach's nominees, the establishment of a Government majority and various other issues all becomes relevant. I agree with the Deputy's point, but it is impossible to achieve the implementation of the content of the second report without considering Seanad reform in its entirety. I am in favour of doing that in consultation with all the parties.
As the Taoiseach has ruled out any further Constitutional amendment, particularly in the area of abortion, is it the Government's intention to legislate for the "X" case as determined by the Supreme Court?
The Government has made no decision on that and has not considered it since the election. I said in the last Dáil that the matter would have to be examined again in detail to see how it can be dealt with, and that remains the position.
It is virtually certain that within the lifetime of this Government we will face another Constitutional amendment in respect of whatever emerges from the Intergovernmental Conference following the Convention on the Future of Europe. Would the Taoiseach therefore consider setting up a permanent system of information and communication, or does he see that being the role of the National Forum on Europe? What measures do the Government intend to take to build on the success of the "Yes" vote in the Nice referendum and to recognise the substantial number of people who, for whatever reason, have very serious reservations about where this country is going within the context of the European Union?
It is important that the Taoiseach gives consideration to the continuation of the work of the National Forum on Europe. I suggest that once it becomes clear that a referendum must be held following the Intergovernmental Conference, the Referendum Commission should be set up as soon as possible. On this occasion the Referendum Commission was in a better position than before to assist people in having factual information about Nice, and more importantly, about what was not in the Nice treaty.
I am in general agreement with what has been said. The National Forum on Europe must stay in place to continue its good work in involving people in an inclusive way in debate. It plays an important role in getting out and about in the community and engaging everybody. I have nothing against particular groups, but it is a debate that must be conducted in the broader community. It is important to keep this going and to continue communicating and informing. I would not be honest if I said I was not surprised in the past 18 months or so at the lack of understanding of or knowledge about many of the issues we in the Oireachtas feel are fairly basic. This is a fact of life, and we have to keep working on it.
I agree with Deputy Kenny about the Referendum Commission. In its report on the referendum of last March it makes the point that it did not have sufficient time and that the more time it gets the better. It got that time on this occasion.
In addition, we in this House and in Government must work out how to engage in communicating the European message. We will be doing far more work in this House – I pay tribute to Deputy Quinn on his legislation and input into the whole process of how the House deals with European directives and legislation—
When will the European Union (Scrutiny) Bill, 2001, be enacted?
As soon as possible I hope. I know the Minister for Foreign Affairs wants to proceed with it immediately. While we will be conducting a lot of business here, we have to find a new way of communicating that outside the Oireachtas. Without criticising anyone or anything in particular, it is a constant problem of this House that we communicate a small portion of everyday's business but we do not communicate many other issues.
People in here will be busy dealing with important directives and legislation and there will be much more work in train in the next ten or 20 years with the activities of the Convention on the Future of Europe. Those of us who attend our group meetings can see how it is moving. That has to be communicated, otherwise we cannot get people here to devote time to it. The whole question of how we communicate our business generally, but in this case in respect of Europe, has to be thought out. Quite frankly, I do not think that is being done.
In relation to future possible referenda or amendments to the Constitution, has the Taoiseach given any consideration to the suggestions from two former Taoisigh, Deputy John Bruton and Mr. Garret FitzGerald, that referenda are perhaps not the best way to deal with EU treaties? Would he be inclined to go consider attempting to modify the Constitution to ensure future treaties can be decided by the Oireachtas, without reference to the people, or would he – and I would prefer this – put a strong case at EU level that all EU treaties should be put to all the people of the EU? Which of those lines would he follow? Does he want to finish work begun in relation to neutrality and, if so, would a constitutional amendment be required before Ireland could join a military pact, apart from a European common defence, such as NATO? Has the Taoiseach noted in respect of the draft of a new European constitution that Deputy Bruton objected to provisions that would exclude countries which did not approve a draft EU constitution? Would he see that as requiring Government intervention at the convention to ensure the Irish Constitution does not become subservient to an EU constitution?
Since the Good Friday Agreement was signed more than four years ago we were promised progress on the issue of Oireachtas representation for people from the Six Counties.
If the Deputy asks a question rather than makes a statement I will be able to allow in Deputy Higgins.
It is some months since the publication of the report from the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution which dealt with the issue of Northern representation here. We have seen no action on it since. What does the Taoiseach propose to do and will he confirm if this is on the Government's agenda?
Has the Government finally determined that a constitutional change is not required to allow the Government to introduce the ground rents Bill? If so the Taoiseach cannot use that as an excuse any more to delay it, which he did several times during the last Dáil and will he bring forward legislation to end this last vestige of feudalism and landlordism?
On Question No. 13, I commend the work of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution. Does the Taoiseach agree that giving citizens from the Six Counties the right to sit in the Dáil and Seanad will make a significant contribution to the peace process and will also play a part in ending the alienation of the Northern minority?
In reply to Deputy Sargent, there is no other referendum pending. I have no doubt that what former Taoisigh and others have said about this will continue to be debated. However, we have a written Constitution and there are Supreme Court decisions and until those things are changed there is no other alternative. We all know the difficulty of putting complex questions and trying to explain them. That is the way it is in this country. We all have views about how these things could be done. That is how it is and I cannot see it being altered in any easy way but I have listened to many comments from the ordinary public in recent months. When they are given a treaty to consider, many would rather if we did not put them to the trouble. That is the way it is. We have to deal with the way it is and we have been doing that for many years.
Is the Taoiseach talking about Fianna Fáil members?
It was members from the Deputy's party I met. They were totally confused because they thought Deputy Sargent was in favour while he had said he was against it.
We were very clear.
All those issues will, no doubt, be debated into the future. To reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin, to the best of my knowledge all parties in the South are anxious to get on with dealing with the matter he raised. Deputy Kenny raised it earlier and I answered him. We have asked the parties to make submissions on how they think we can best proceed. I am anxious to proceed and I hope the matter can be dealt with so that Northern representation can play a part here in relevant debates, particularly, on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and other issues. I have no objection to that. It would be a good thing, it would be helpful and certainly if we can get agreement here I would be glad to get on with it.
How soon does the Taoiseach envisage agreement being reached?
All the parties have to come back with their own presentations but we got agreement before the end of the last Dáil to the presentation of the document. I recall that Deputy O'Keeffe of the Fine Gael Party and Deputy Lenihan from this side agreed that document. We must now move on to the next phase. So far as the Government is concerned we have no difficulty in proceeding with it. That is our position on it and it is part of our programme.
Deputy Higgins asked about the ground rents Bill. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform would be glad to answer a question on that issue because he strongly believes it can be done by legislation.
When will we see it?