Coalition moves to end Howlin dispute

THE Government has sought to end an unseemly row between one of its ministers and the independent Referendum Commission by reaffirming its faith in the body trusted with refereeing campaigns to change the Constitution.

In a statement it said it recognised “the absolute independence of the Referendum Commission”. This came after the independent body had hit out at Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin over his efforts to find a scapegoat for the defeated bid to beef up Oireachtas inquiries.

The commission defended its interpretation of the proposed Oireachtas Inquiries Referendum and took exception to Mr Howlin’s efforts to criticise its chairman, Bryan McMahon.

It said he should not have singled out Dr McMahon for comments regarding the powers the inquiries could have been given, because these were the agreed position of the independent body.

“The commission regrets that Mr Howlin has sought to personalise the issue by criticising the commission chairperson over the commission’s explanation to voters of the referendum proposal in relation to Oireachtas Inquiries,” it said.

Mr Howlin, who was at the helm of the Government’s drive to have the amendment passed, had earlier said he was “disappointed” at the result.

However in a statement defending his analysis his spokesperson said he was not criticising the commission and had only named its chairman as “shorthand” for commentary on the whole body.

“He simply indicated that the views of the commission differed from the advice received from the state's law officers, as articulated by the Government, and that the electorate found this aspect of the campaign confusing,” the statement said.

The difference of opinion centred on the words “if any” in the commission’s explanations ahead of the referendum.

However the five-member commission said it had sought and received clarity on the phrasing it used in interpretations in advance of the referendum and it stood over the language it adopted.

“The statement to which the minister refers was prepared by the commission as a whole with the assistance of independent external legal advice.

“The commission is absolutely satisfied as to the accuracy and reliability of this statement, and is satisfied that it carried out its duty with the independence and neutrality required by law,” it said.

The unprecedented spat comes as it emerged the public could be asked to vote again on the inquiries referendum.

The 30th amendment to the Constitution, dubbed the Abbeylara Amendment, was defeated by a margin of more than 116,000 votes, by 53.3% to 46.7%.

Opposition parties and civil liberties groups welcomed the rejection of the Oireachtas inquiries amendment, with some turning their fire on the Government over its perceived “arrogance” in advance of last Thursday’s vote.

However, the possibility of a re-run for the amendment, in some form, was raised by Labour leader and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore when he spoke on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics last night.

“I don’t envisage that there will be a referendum on this again very soon,” Mr Gilmore said.

“I think the immediate consequence of it is that it would not be possible now to go ahead with the kind of inquiry into banking that we had hoped we would have been able to have.

“Perhaps there’s an issue maybe of the timing of when the proposition was put, but at the end of the day a decision was made by the people.

“We clearly have to think through now what were the reasons why the referendum was defeated, and at some point a decision will have to be made as to whether we revisit this issue on its own or whether, perhaps, we consider it as part of the proposals in the constitutional convention that we intend to go ahead with.”

Fianna Fáil spokesman Seán Fleming said some comments made by ministers during the campaign were inappropriate.

He called on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to state publicly whether he supported Mr Howlin’s views.