Voters face 6 referenda in Fine Gael’s first year
The party promises that within 12 months of arriving in Government, it will hold a super-constitution day where the electorate will be given five separate ballot papers to decide on:
* The abolition of the Seanad and reducing the number of Dáil TDs by 20.
* Reducing the President’s term of office from seven to five years.
* Giving the Dáil powers to cut judges’ pay.
* Giving Oireachtas committees stronger powers of investigation.
* Putting the office of the Ombudsman on a constitutional footing.
“We are firm in our belief that these constitutional referenda can be held within one year of a new government being formed. One year is enough time for a new government to consult with relevant stakeholders, draught the legislation and put the cases to the people,” said Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.
Another referendum on Children’s Rights — which has already been agreed by all parties — would take place on the same day as the presidential election this autumn.
“Every day that goes by without a referendum acknowledging the voice of children in the constitution is a poor day for children, leaving them in a position of great vulnerability and hardship. So this will be a priority,” said the party’s spokesperson on children, Charlie Flanagan.
A referendum to give Oireachtas committees more investigative powers was also agreed to on a cross-party basis before the dissolution of the 30th Dáil.
It would “mean we no longer require tribunals of inquiry” according to the party’s environment spokesperson Phil Hogan. “We will have strong committee systems of inquiry instead which will be obviously much cheaper and we will have a speedy resolution of some of the issues.”
Fine Gael is proposing that presidential elections would take place every five years on the same day as local and European elections. Changes to the presidential term — if sanctioned by the people — would not kick in until 2018.
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