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Government loses referendum vote on new parliamentary powers of investigation

Public does vote in favour of plan to cut judicial pay

CATHAL DERVAN,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, October 30, 2011, 10:58 AM

Updated Sunday, October 30, 2011, 10:58 AM

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A referendum designed to give the Irish parliament more powers to investigate matters of public importance has been defeated – by the public.

Just over half the electorate voted in the referendum - on "Houses of the Oireachtas inquiries" - which was held in conjunction with Thursday’s Presidential vote.

The amendment sought to give more power to members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) to set up inquiries into matters which it deemed to be of public importance.

The amendment, backed by government partners Fine Gael and the Labor Party, was rejected by a majority of more than 116,000 votes.

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A second amendment, on judicial pay, passed easily however.

A statement from the government said: “It is disappointing that the 30th amendment on Oireachtas inquiries has been narrowly defeated.

“The Government accepts the people’s decision and will reflect and carefully consider the vote outcome.”

A total of 1,785,208 people voted on the amendment with 928,175 voting against and 812,008 voting in favour - a majority of 116,167.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform Sean Fleming has claimed the defeat highlighted the Government’s arrogance and its failure to engage with the public on the subject.

“The rushed nature of the campaign and the dismissive approach of ministers to questions and concerns about the amendment, caused damage to the campaign,” said Fleming.

“Some of the public comments by members of Government were arrogant and inappropriate.”

Almost 80 percent of those who voted on Thursday were in favour of the referendum on Judge’s pay which allows the government to cut judicial pay in line with economic necessity.

A total of 1,785,707 people voted in favour of the amendment, the 29th to the Constitution, with 354,134 voting against.

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oldboreen | Nov 01, 2011, 08:56 AM EDT

Which proves just how more sophisticated the Irish electorate is compared to that in the the UK! Witness the recent farcical all three parties three-line whip debacle in the British House of Commons regarding Britain's continuing membership of the European Union! The Irish voters by and large, are far more politically aware than their British counterparts-shame though they weren't more vigilant when it came to managing their finances! The spending spree brought Ireland to it's knees.It's all too simplistic to put all the blame for Ireland's plight on bankers, developers and politicians. We all enjoyed the party I seem to remember!

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ballindaggin | Oct 31, 2011, 07:03 AM EDT

Irish people are not stupid.We know it's not nessessary to change the Constitution just to bring criminals i.e.bankers,property developers and people in authority, to justice.The people who brought this country to it's knees should be treated like any other criminals and that includes everyone from the top down.

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LoyalCitizen | Oct 30, 2011, 01:31 PM EDT

In consideration of how they falsified the rule books of Ireland it makes no sense to vote for anything......Any and all legal transactions in Ireland are null and void........Having falsified rule books invalidates everything.

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CaptainCon | Oct 30, 2011, 11:04 AM EDT

This attempt by the political establishment to confine investigations of matters of public interest such as corruption of the like to itself is wisely rejected by the Irish public. It was a vague attempt at extending the powers of the Oireachtas and not calculated to serve justice but calculated to keep reform away from the courts and statute book where the reforms need to be. Much of the corruption of recent years begins and ends with the patronage system in the Oireachtas and this rejection of the extension of Oireachtas patronage powers is a vote of no confidence from the electorate. Try bringing forward plans to introduce power of recall to constituencies and you'll soon see a 'yes' vote. The days of the Oireachtas standing on its honour are long gone and this vote is an acknowledgement of the lack of trust in that body in Irish public life. Bring forward the real reforms and stop messing about, Shatter.

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