Resumen de Constitutional amendment in Ireland
Fiona de Londras, David Gwynn Morgan
Given the amount of popular and political attention currently being visited on the topic in Ireland, this is an opportune time for us to consider the normally arcane question of constitutional reform. This attention is largely driven by the country’s recent fall from economic grace and the public reaction to it. The fi rst part of this reaction was to remove from power (by a huge margin) the party that had formed the Government for 61 of the 79 years since it fi rst came to offi ce in 1932 (Fianna Fáil). In the general election leading to that party’s removal, substantial attention was paid to constitutional reform, although the calls for constitutional change might fairly be described as more persistent than coherent at times.1 The central elements of the clamour for constitutional change focus on more effi cient control and accountability of public bodies, and the slimming down of the public sector and its emoluments. To some extent, these calls for change have emerged from non-constitutional experts, such as newspaper columns, and have tended to attach blame for Ireland’s current economic straits to constitutional structures or the fundamentally misunderstand Constitution.2 Notwithstanding that, the mood for constitutional change was seized on by political parties and fed into the establishment of some “popular” initiatives to debate and propose social change, including constitutional change. Preparations are currently under way for the establishment of a Constitutional Convention through which a range of individuals would draft a new constitution to be put before the people during 2016, the centenary of the Easter Rising against British Rule
