Referendum Commission

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The Referendum Commission (Irish: An Coimisiún Reifrinn) is an independent statutory body in Ireland which is set up in advance of any referendum. The Referendum Commission was created by the Referendum Act 1998 as amended by the Referendum Act 2001.

1 Background
2 Composition
3 Functions
4 Current commission
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Background

In 1995 Patricia McKenna won a case in the Supreme Court, in which she argued successfully that it was unconstitutional for the Irish Government to spend taxpayers money promoting only one side of the argument in referendum campaign. Following the McKenna case, the first Referendum Commission was set up for the Irish constitutional referendum, 2001.

[edit] Composition

The Act of 1998 provides that the Chairman of the commission will be a former Judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court or a serving Judge of the High Court. The other members of the commission are the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk of the Seanad, the Ombudsman and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The current members are:

Iarfhlaith O'Neill – Chairman
John Purcell – Comptroller and Auditor General
Emily O'Reilly – Ombudsman
Kieran Coughlan – Clerk of the Dáil
Deirdre Lane – Clerk of the Seanad

[edit] Functions

Under the Referendum Act 1998 the commission initially had the role of setting out the arguments for and against referendum proposals, having regard to submissions received from the public. Following the passing of the Referendum Act 2001 the commission no longer has a statutory function in relation to putting the arguments for and against referendum proposals. The 2001 Act also removed from the commission the statutory function of fostering and promoting debate or discussion on referendum proposals.

A new referendum commission may be set up in for each new referendum that takes place, if the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government makes a ministerial order to appoint a commission. The current primary role of the commission is to explain the subject matter of referendum proposals, to promote public awareness of the referendum and to encourage the electorate to vote. It may help citizens find out some basic information about how to register to vote. The commission's information booklets are also produced in braille and audiotape for persons with visual impairments.

Once the commission completes its functions it furnishes a report to the Minister, within six months, on the carrying out of its functions and the commission then dissolves one month after the submission of this report.

[edit] Current commission

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley established the current referendum commission for the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon on 6 March 2008.^[1] The chairman is High Court judge, Iarfhlaith O'Neill. The minister has not restored the original remit of the commission - to outline arguments for and against the referendum - however during the campaign against the first Nice Treaty referendum by the Green Party, Gormley had praised the role of the commission in advancing the pros and cons of the treaty.^[2]