Irish Constitution

What is a constitution and why would a country have one? Coakley and Gallagher (2010:72) state that “Constitutions are important in liberal democracies. They lay down the ground rules about how political power is attained and how it can be exercised, about what governments can and cannot do, and they also set out rights of the citizens”.
The Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann) came into effect on 29th of December 1937. It was drafted by Éamon de Valera and Micheál Ó Gríobhtha. The document is vastly influenced by the Catholic Church. Bunreacht Na hÉireann contains 50 Articles ranging from The Government (Article 12, Constitution of Ireland) to The Family (Article 41, Constitution of Ireland). For any change to occur to the Constitution there has to be a referendum in which every citizen over eighteen is entitled to a vote. Currently there have been thirty proposals and twenty-one amendments. The latest amendment concerned the rights of Irish children.
Garner et al (2009: 188) report that “Only three states- the UK, New Zealand, and Israel-now do not have a specific constitution. The last twenty years have seen an enormous surge of constitution-writing around the world. At least eighty-one states introduced new constitutions, while a further thirty-three carried out major constitutional reform”.
From this it appears Bunreacht na hÉireann is out-of-date. Indeed there has been call for change since the 1970s. Furthermore the first review group has been set up since 1996. This group called the constitutional convention consists of one hundred members, sixty-six citizens, thirty-three parliamentarians and an independent chairman. The constitutional convention is to complete their work in twelve months. The constitutional convention state “It is now generally accepted that given the many changes that have taken place in Irish society in more recent years, the time is now right to look at certain aspects of the Constitution and consider further amendments to make it fit for the 21st Century”.
Other than the content of the Irish constitution we need to look at the length of the document. How does it compare to other constitutions? Is it excessively long? What effect are the amendments having on the constitution? And how has the significance of the constitution changed since joining the European Union. We will try tackling these questions.

Most constitutions incorporate a general or narrow text, General containing core beliefs and principles but light on details. Narrow constitutions have specific details about institutions of state and procedures. Bunreacht na hÉireann covers both. It is important to note that constitutions do vary a great deal, Finer et al (2005:6) tell us that “it is, quite simply, that the constitution-makers in different countries, or for that matter at different moments in the history of any one country, have quite different preoccupations”.
So in comparison to the U.S constitution for example Bunreacht na hÉireann has a lot more content. The U.S constitution has just seven articles, The Legislative Branch, The Executive Branch, 3 The Judicial Branch, The States, Amendment, Debts, Supremacy, Oaths and Ratification. The Irish constitution covers similar topics to this; Bunreacht na hÉireann covers Fundamental Rights (Article 40-44, Constitution of Ireland). Also these articles contain a lot of detail on personal rights, the family, education and even private property which you will not see in the U.S constitution. Also the U.S constitution was adopted in 1787 making it much older than Ireland’s 1937 Constitution.
Take a country similar in size and population to Ireland like Sweden. They adopted there constitution in 1975. It has thirteen chapters, with one hundred and fifty-two articles. The Swedish constitution also goes into detail on fundamental rights (Chapter 2). (Chapter 10) has nine articles on relations with other states, content you will not see in Bunreacht na hÉireann. Then you have India with the largest constitution in the world containing four hundred and forty four articles.
Let us look at the amendments to Bunreacht na hÉireann now. The first amendment was in 1939 and the latest in 2004. The amendments have ranged from reducing the minimum voting age at Dáil and presidential elections and referendums from twenty-one to eighteen in 1972 to the fifteenth amendment back in 1995 which provided for the dissolution of marriage in certain specified circumstances. In recent years there has been amendments concerning the states membership of the European Union such as allowing the state to ratify the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998 and allowing the state to ratify the treaty of Nice in 2002.
From looking through these amendments what becomes clear is that to Bunreacht na hÉireann is moving away from its strong catholic influence. The first amendment to tackle this strong influence of the church was that of 1972 where the special position of the Catholic Church was removed from the constitution and recognition was given to other named religious denominations (Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972). Furthermore, looking at the future of the constitution some of the future amendments being talked about are much opposed to the Catholic Church. These are mentioned among the tasks set to the constitutional convention including provisions for same sex marriage and removal of the offence of blasphemy from the constitution.
Possibly the most debated topic in relation to change in the constitution at the moment is abortion. Very much opposed by the Catholic Church. Pullella (2005) reported ‘Pope Benedict warmly praised anti-abortion activists’ and ‘He lauded the group for its "courage" in opposing abortion’. Recently there was a convention held in Ireland where professionals such as lawyers and doctors presented their evidence in relation to the abortion debate, remarkably the Catholic Church also got to present their views on the debate.
Referendums can be costly albeit democratic. It is important to note that they are not the only process used in amending a constitution. In the USA, amendments require a special majority in congress followed by ratification by three-quarters of the states; the French provisions give the President a certain leeway. The amendment bill must be passed by both houses, but he or she may then either put it to the people or resubmit it to both houses of parliament convened together in one body (called congress), in which case it requires three-fifths of the votes cast, Finer et al (1995). This brings us to the role of the president in Ireland which is very restricted through the constitution (Article 12-14, Constitution of Ireland). This too is being reviewed by the constitutional convention as well as possibly shortening the presidential term from seven years to five (Article 12.3, Constitution of Ireland).
The Republic of Ireland joined the European Union in 1973. This is significant as in the hierarchy of power the European constitution outweighs Bunreacht na hÉireann. Of course this will have no impact on certain articles, but others may well overlap.

Through some of this research it may well be reasoned that Bunreacht na hÉireann is excessively long. I believe it needs a full overhaul as proposed amendments will keep coming into discussion more frequently, taking up politicians’ time and costing the tax payer. (Politics.ie, 2011) reported the cost of a referenda being (€17-22m).
I believe at the very least the Irish constitution should be rewritten. With information being so readily available in modern society and scientific research, people tend to have different and informed views on religion; indeed many would call themselves atheists. Therefore it is wrong to have the non-Catholic people of Irish society adhere to a constitution with such a strong influence of one particular religious institution.
This constitution is simply outdated, if there is one such example I will leave you with it is this. In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved (Article 41.2, Constitution of Ireland). Here the constitution is emphasizing a woman’s place in the home; this is unacceptable in modern society, especially in such a developed country as The Republic of Ireland.

Bibliography
Bunreacht na hÉireann – Constitution of Ireland (1937), Dublin: Government Publications, Stationery Office.
Coakley, J. and Gallagher, M. (2010) ‘POLITICS IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’ (5th edition), NewYork: Routhledge.
Finer, S E. Bogdanor, V. and Rudden, B. (1995) ‘Comparing Constitutions’, New York: Oxford University Press.
Garner, R. Ferdinand, P. and Lawson, S. (2009), ‘Introduction to Politics’, New York: Oxford University Press.
Pullella, Philip.(2005) ‘Group against abortion praised by Pope’, The Irish Times, 17 November,p.13.
United States Constitution: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html.

Bibliography: Bunreacht na hÉireann – Constitution of Ireland (1937), Dublin: Government Publications, Stationery Office. Coakley, J. and Gallagher, M. (2010) ‘POLITICS IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’ (5th edition), NewYork: Routhledge. Finer, S E. Bogdanor, V. and Rudden, B. (1995) ‘Comparing Constitutions’, New York: Oxford University Press. Garner, R. Ferdinand, P. and Lawson, S. (2009), ‘Introduction to Politics’, New York: Oxford University Press. Pullella, Philip.(2005) ‘Group against abortion praised by Pope’, The Irish Times, 17 November,p.13. United States Constitution: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html.