30th Amendment to the Constitution

This Thursday, October 27th, when the nation will choose a new President, you will also be asked to vote on two important referenda which would change the wording of our Constitution.

You will be asked whether or not you feel the Irish parliament should be given stronger powers to investigate matters of public importance. This will put a new system in place that is quicker and much more cost-effective than the lengthy tribunals that we have seen drag on for years in the past.

In 2002, a Supreme Court judgement in the Abbeylara Case found that there was legal doubt regarding the power of the Oireachtas – that is the Dáil and the Seanad - to carry out inquiries. The Government believes this must be addressed to ensure accountability in public life, which has been seriously lacking in recent times.

If passed, the 30th Amendment to the Constitution (Houses of the Oireachtas Inquiries) Bill, 2011, will strengthen our democracy so that inquiries in the public interest can be carried out in our national parliament. These sort of investigative powers are already the norm in other parliaments across the world.

It will provide a transparent and effective alternative which will mean that those responsible for failures which have cost the public dearly can be held properly to account.

I firmly believe that those who have failed the public dearly should be held to account. A system of stronger Oireachtas investigation would provide a transparent and effective alternative to tribunals. Fine Gael wants to strengthen the power of parliament to act on behalf of the people to secure accountability in our society in areas where significant systemic failures have taken place. A ‘Yes’ vote will ensure that this happens.

Inquiries will be fairly conducted, clearly defined and carried out in a cost-efficient way and any attempt to harm the constitutional rights and liberties of the individual, as has been suggested by some, will be rigorously safeguarded against. Under the proposed new system, fair procedures must be abided.

This referendum will not to serve the Government of the day or any one particular party-political agenda. In the spirit of the current Committee system, it will provide for a cross-party parliamentary system of inquiry which will ensure that matters of general public importance that come to light can be subjected to full investigation and rigorous inquiry. We want a system whereby costs are reduced and all parties work together to investigate key issues affecting the people of Ireland.

I believe that for too long people who have let this country down have not been held accountable for their actions. A ‘Yes’ vote on the 27th will ensure that we can get to the bottom of the issues closest to people’s hearts and build a more open, transparent and inclusive society for all. Through the banking crisis and our economic demise, spending scandals in the public service and the arrival of the IMF, many people rightly felt that questions have gone unanswered. We now have a chance to get answers to these questions.