Constitutional change - Sovereignty of our people remains

This weekend will mark the 75th anniversary of the referendum ratifying the Irish Constitution.

In an address last night, Chief Justice Susan Denham remarked that the Constitution has served the country well, but its framers “could never have anticipated the growth in the volume of litigation, its complexity and diversity, through the legal system”.

There is now a need for reform, as the Chief Justice contends the Supreme Court in currently unsustainable. But this should not be taken as criticism of those who framed the Constitution. It was drafted at a time of widespread despair across much of Europe in the midst of the Great Depression.

In the existing political climate, human rights were not a priority, especially with the spread of fascism and communism. It is worth remembering that in the 25 years following the end of the First World War, Ireland was one of the very few, if not the only, country in Europe with a Roman Catholic majority that did not either embrace or become overrun by fascism.

Much of the credit for this must go the framers of the Constitution and its driving concept, emphasising the sovereignty of the people, from whom all powers of government are derived. Several articles of the Constitution are devoted to fundamental rights, with the dignity of the individual being central.

The Programme for Government 2011-2016 commits the current Government to introduce a constitutional referendum to provide for setting up a separate system of courts for family law in order to save money and promote efficiency. Conferring such powers on the Oireachtas by referendum would simplify the whole process, according to the chief justice.

The Government is supposed set up a constitutional convention to consult interested parties and various elements of the opposition in the preparation of a whole raft of changes to be submitted to the people in a number of referendums on one day. The make up of this constitutional convention poses a real challenge in order to ensure that it would be as representative as possible, if the reforms are to be effective.

The Programme for Government already outlines a series of issues to be considered, such as lowering the voting age to 17, cutting the presidential term from seven to five years, and holding the presidential election in conjunction with the European elections, as well as giving Irish people abroad the right to vote in presidential elections at Irish embassies. Other matters to be considered are to make provision for same-sex marriages, remove blasphemy from our Constitution, encourage greater participation of women in politics and in public life in general. There are also plans to amend the current clause about the role of women in the home.

In addition to the changes outlined in the Programme for Government, the recommendations of the chief justice warrant careful consideration. In the current political climate, it might be difficult to secure popular approval for the proposed constitutional changes, because it will be the Irish people — not the politicians, or the judges — who will ultimately decide on these matters.