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.