Good Friday Committee publishes report on Women and Constitutional Change

The Committee is exploring a range of issues that would arise in the event of constitutional change. Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, conversations about possible constitutional change on the island of Ireland have become more prominent. This Committee believes that serious thought must now be given to what the process of constitutional change should look like.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Fergus O’Dowd said: “Women involved in political parties North and South along with members of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC) were central to public and private negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement, as were women involved in the community and voluntary sector. The role of women in peace post Good Friday Agreement has been neglected in Northern Ireland and many of the priorities of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition in the Agreement have not been implemented. It is important to reflect on why certain aspects of the Agreement were not implemented and identify lessons learned that can inform potential future constitutional change in Ireland.”

“Preparation for a new and agreed Ireland should include extensive, inclusive, and thoughtful public engagement, North and South. This should draw on best practice from fora for deliberative democracy and civic engagement in recent years such as, but should also challenge entrenched power dynamics that exclude marginalised voices.

“It is critical that structural inequalities rooted in class, gender, and race are not reproduced in these spaces. Engagement should take place on a sector-by-sector basis. These forums should intentionally centre the experiences of working-class women, disabled women, older women, rural women, women of colour, carers, and those impacted by historical trauma in Northern Ireland, ensuring that their voices drive meaningful change. Arrangements should facilitate participation by vulnerable groups and sectors of society that are traditionally underrepresented in policy making. This is especially true for unionist women who may otherwise feel alienated in constitutional discussions.

“In the event of constitutional change, Ireland would have a rare opportunity to design a process that fully includes women in the act of designing a new and agreed Ireland. Facilitating full inclusion of the perspectives of women, and other under-represented groups, in the process of constitutional change will need careful planning and major financial investment. If we do not do so, there is a danger that existing power hierarchies will dominate debate around constitutional change.”

The Committee makes a number of recommendations which are outlined below:

·       The Committee recommends that the Government provide planned, focussed, and targeted resourcing of groups working with women on constitutional change to support what women would like to see in the new Constitution.

·       The Committee recommends a review of the organisation of Citizens’ Assemblies to date to identify and dismantle any barriers preventing the full participation of women and underrepresented groups. This includes addressing not only the logistics, such as the adequacy of financial supports for participants to meet caring and other responsibilities, but also ensuring that debate structures avoid patriarchal or sectarian hierarchies that have historically excluded women's voices.

·       The Committee calls again for the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, in all its parts. In particular, the Committee calls for implementation of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland as well as the review mechanisms that were originally built into the Agreement to ensure that there is scope for comprehensive, inclusive review and positive renewal.

Read the report and its recommendations in full here.