Labour proposes new Constitution

Labour has said it plans to have in place a new Constitution in time for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

Labour has said it plans to have in place a new Constitution in time for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

The document would be drafted by a 90-member Constitutional Convention within 12 months of the election, the party proposes.

One-third of the convention's members would be nominated by the Oireachtas, one-third by civil society representative bodies and academia, and the rest would be ordinary citizens randomly selected from the electoral register.

The convention would have an open mandate to consider political reform but would be tasked with sending a draft Constitution to the Oireachtas within 12 months. This would then be voted upon in referendum.

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Labour says much of the work of the convention would take place in small groups or online. Its deliberations, ideas and working papers would be available online.

The party's spokesman on constitutional affairs, Brendan Howlin, described the proposal as groundbreaking and important; "This will be a new departure in Irish politics, involving citizens and their representatives in a structured participatory body to reflect on the Republic they want to see".

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen is a former heath editor of The Irish Times.