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With Newry and Armagh MLA Conor Murphy potentially heading for the Seanad following a decision by Sinn Féin to nominate him for a seat at the Oireachtas a report published in December by the Seanad Public Consultation Committee on the Constitutional Future of the Island of Ireland is timely. Sinn Féin say if elected the Current Economy Minister will use his wealth of experience to advance the Irish unity debate.
In the report Senators recommend the establishment of an Oireachtas Committee to fully explore the preparation for any potential constitutional changes. Also among the other key recommendations of the report is the establishment of advisory councils relating to the constitutional future of the country.
For the consultation, the Seanad Committee sought submissions from the public and held four public hearings in the Seanad Chamber in September and October 2022, where it heard from a range of stakeholders on the topic. The hearings were divided into four themes: Young voices on the Constitutional future of the island of Ireland; Public policy and economic opportunities and challenges; Unionist Voices and Other Voices; and The criteria for a referendum and lessons from other Jurisdictions.
The Committee’s objectives for the consultation were to gather opinions and suggestions on the issue from the general public, in particular from the voices of young people from throughout the island and of course, the voices of the Unionist community and their vision for the future.
The Committee also discussed the criteria for a referendum on the Constitutional Future of the island of Ireland and lessons from other referendums held here and in other jurisdictions, as well as the societal and economic opportunities and challenges that should be considered on this topic.
All submissions received were brought to the attention of the Committee and following the hearings, an interim report was published by the Committee in December 2022.
The final report published 20 December sets out nine recommendations on steps the Committee considers are needed to prepare for possible constitutional change on the island of Ireland.
Speaking on behalf of the Committee, Senator Daly highlighted the importance of the public contribution to this process: “On behalf of the Members of the Committee, I wish to thank all those who took the time to make a submission on this topic and those who made the effort to attend public hearings here in Leinster House. The Committee believes this body of work was very important and the belief of the Committee is that this consultation has made a valuable contribution to debate in this area.”
Check out The final report here: The Constitutional Future of The Island of Ireland
