Madam, – I write in relation to the article by Noel Whelan (Opinion, July 24th), in which he implies that the report on electoral reform published by the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution is an example of kicking “the hot potato of political reform into the long grass”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Careful analysis of the full report will show that in relation to electoral reform, the committee was very definitive in its recommendation that there is no need to change the present system of election used in this country, namely the PR-STV system.
This was the unanimous opinion of the committee and in that, there is absolutely no fudge.
However, recognising that there is a need for improvement in our political system and an urgent need to improve the interaction between the general public and the Oireachtas, the committee made a substantial number of further recommendations as to how this might be achieved.
These recommendations were based on submissions made by members of the general public both written and oral and views expressed by the members of the committee themselves.
I personally am on the record both inside and outside the Dáil that I strongly advocate substantial reform of our political process.
In that regard a citizens’ assembly is recommended as a means of ascertaining the views of the general public as to how the present electoral system can be improved
Many of the 29 recommendations are designed to make the workings of the Oireachtas more relevant to the public.
This has never been more necessary than at the present time.
I respectfully suggest that careful consideration of the full report will show that the report is proactive in attempting to involve all our citizens in the decision making of the Oireachtas.
I fully agree with Mr Whelan that the decision to implement the recommendation of the committee rests with the Cabinet.
Perhaps the next area that the Constitutional Committee might investigate is how the power of Oireachtas committees can be strengthened so that reports such as this report are implemented.
There is an urgent need to implement a new politics and this report is a step in that direction. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The cross-party committee on the Constitution (Home News, July 23rd), produced a comprehensive report regarding Article 16 of the Constitution, which referred to the electoral system and its possible reform, and produced 29 recommendations in total.
Surprisingly, there is no set recommendation in the report, however, regarding the introduction of national seats, such as in a "list system", though much recent debate has focused on this proposal (both in the report itself and notably in a number of opinion pieces in The Irish Times).
Section 4.40 of the report stated with reference to possible reform of the electoral system in this regard that the “The PR element could comprise a single national constituency or could work on the basis of regional constituencies”, both of which methods could be implemented through the structure of a list system.
An additional angle that was not reviewed in the report would be the proposal to introduce a number of randomised national constituencies in the Dáil (whereby candidates and voters are assigned a national constituency division by lottery rather than by geography).
This would meet the much-voiced need to have national seats while at the same time dividing the number of voters for such seats in order to alleviate the extent to which the possession of substantial financial resources and/or relative fame would otherwise be effective prerequisites for election.
Adding national seats would be one of the better ways to improve the electoral system and the fact that there is no defined recommendation in relation to their introduction is one of the more significant aspects of the report. – Yours, etc,
