Sir, - On June 11th we go to the polls to elect local representatives and MEPs. However, we will also be voting on something much more significant, for among the myriad issues which voters must consider on Friday is a referendum to add Article 28A to Bunreacht na hEireann. The Constitution, as the framework for our system of government, will continue to exist long after the public representatives elected this week have given up their seats to their successors.
The Government, in order to comply with the 1995 McKenna judgment, is obliged to provide the people with a balanced view of the arguments for and against such constitutional referendums. Although the Referendum Commission has prepared a statement of the relevant arguments in the present case, interested voters must take action to obtain a copy (e.g. by going to public libraries or post offices, or by buying a newspaper). While the political parties are happy to fill our letter-boxes with a plethora of election literature, and to festoon our streets with colourful pictures of smiling candidates, the Government, in neglecting properly to disseminate information about the referendum, has shown a lack of regard for our basic law, which is bound to influence the population as a whole.
A mere 29.21 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote for the bail referendum in 1996. Although the number will be larger this time, due to the elections, most people voting on Article 28A will be ill-informed, many of them doubtless unaware of the referendum until they see it on the polling card. In future, the Government should be obliged to circulate referendum information to every house in the country. Our Constitution deserves a far greater degree of respect than that currently shown by our elected representatives. - Yours, etc., William Abrahamson,
Roebuck Lawn, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14.