Murphy Joins With the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Leading Academics, Lawyers and fellow Politicians to Urge A “No Vote” on October Referendum

Press Release, Launch of Irish Council for Civil Liberties Vote “No” Campaign

Catherine Murphy, Independent TD for North Kildare has today helped to launch the Irish Council for Civil Liberties led VOTE NO Campaign along with a collection of leading academics, lawyers and politicians in response to the upcoming referendum on Oireachtas Inquiries.

Murphy, who yesterday, along with fellow Independent TDs and Senators, adopted a united stance against what she has termed a “rushed, ill-considered and dangerous” constitutional amendment, today stood with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and a collection of concerned academics, lawyers, politicians and advocacy groups to highlight the thus-far under-reported upcoming referendums.

When asked why she is so against the adoption of the amendment in question, Murphy stated;

I have huge concerns when it comes to bias in Oireachtas Inquiries because as a politician I feel it’s my job to hold, express and stand for my beliefs and opinions.  How can someone whose position requires them to do this honestly conduct an independent inquiry?  I’m very concerned that the way the government has crafted the amendment is too open to abuse, lacks adequate restraint to limit the control of vested interests and, although I’m not saying the current government will necessarily overstep the mark, I am concerned that if we adopt this measure we’ll depend on them not to decide to do so as they will have the power to.  In essence what I’m saying is that the intentions of this government are irrelevant, we must instead look at what this proposal will enable it and subsequent governments to do.

Murphy has highlighted her concerns on the government’s proposed amendment at every stage of the legislative process by calling for votes, voting against the proposal and even offering one of only two opposition amendments.  During every stage she has highlighted her huge concern at the rushed nature in which the government sped the amendment through the Oireachtas denying TDs and Senators the ability to fully scrutinise and amend the proposal.

This bill was first brought into the Dáil on 14th September, it was debated for a few hours on the 15th, we then had until lunch-time on the 16th to propose changes, those changes where discussed for 1 hour on the next sitting day which was the 20th, it was then sent to the Seanad for one day and that was it!  Where’s the scrutiny?  More importantly, where’s the respect for the people and their constitution?

Due to this lack of scrutiny, states Murphy, there is now very little information on the Dáil record regarding the intention of the legislature and government in bringing the proposal forward.   And if enacted, when the courts come to look at this provision in the future they will have very little information to go on.  Worse still, the North Kildare Independent highlighted, the proposal in its current form will vastly restrict the ability of the courts to intervene in inquiries of this nature in the first place.

The government’s proposal is explicit, “it shall be for the House or Houses to determine” what is in the public interest and what balance should be struck between the rights of the individual and the public interest.  This is worrying to say the least because it gives the courts no role at all in adjudicating over inquiries that may infringe on the rights of people.  This is wrong and cannot be allowed.

Murphy is also urging a “No Vote” on the proposed constitutional amendment on judges pay.  Again, while highlighting her support for the principle of sharing the burden of pay cuts amongst some of the highest paid public servants, including politicians, the Kildare North TD expressed grave concern at the ambiguous language contained in the government’s proposal and the rushed nature in which it was sped through the Dáil and Seanad.

Visit the ICCL website for more information on the NO campaign and www.catherinemurphy.ie for information on Catherine’s views.

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Posted by admin on October 21, 2011. Filed under Constitution,Elections & Referendums,In the Dáil. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry