Senator Michael McDowell has accused Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s department of engaging in a “cover up” after it decided not to publish minutes of meetings of the Interdepartmental Group which considered proposed amendments to the Constitution over the course 2023.
In a statement Senator McDowell condemned the decision after O’Gorman’s department decided it was not in the “public interest” to publish the minutes of the meetings.
Slamming the move McDowell quipped that, “The public interest requires keeping the public in the dark.”
“The Department has refused access to all 64 pages of notes and minutes discussing the consequences of the amendments including tax laws, social welfare laws, pension laws, allocation of family assets, alimony and allowance including the laws in relation to family reunification for asylum seekers.” he said.
McDowell says the withheld records include minutes of 16 meetings of the cross-departmental group and that records “also include correspondence with an NGO named “Treoir”.”
He continued that the department’s “flawed opinion” was that to allow access and publish these minutes would be “premature” and might impinge on “the integrity and viability of the referendums”, as “public officials could be seen to promote” referendum outcomes “in breach of what the Departments says are the McKenna/McCrystal Principles.”
Accusing O’Gorman’s department of wishing to “suppress all information in the minutes of the cross-departmental meetings until after the people have voted in the referendum.” McDowell asked if the Irish people were not entitled to know “what the implications are of giving much wider rights for family reunification to asylum seekers and immigrants?”
“False Reliance on the Electoral Commission”
Pointing to the role of the Electoral Commission as being “charged” with giving the public “impartial and accurate information”, McDowell said the Electoral Commission “cannot tell the public what the consequences of the referendums will be for tax laws for family law relating to divisions of family homes, businesses, farms and pension law, criminal law, and succession law to name but some.”
“All the Electoral Commission can do is to tell voters that the courts will have to decide “hard cases” in future disputes.” he said.
“Cover Up”
Accusing O’Gorman’s department of engaging in a “cover up” he said he ‘rejects’ the department’s “flawed reasoning” for “refusing public access to the process that led to these constitutional amendments being rushed through the Dáil and Seanad by Minister O’Gorman using guillotine motions to prevent proper debate.”
Senator McDowell continued, “The Department’s decision perverts the democratic process which requires giving the people all the facts before they vote in a referendum.”
He concluded his statement adding, “As one leading, legal authority on Freedom of Information said: “The public is only marginally concerned with reasons supporting a policy which an agency has rejected…in contrast the public is vitally concerned with the reasons that did supply the basis for an agency policy actually adopted.”
“There is no justification for this departmental cover-up of the processes and considerations that have led to these flawed referendum proposals.” he said.
Last week Gript’s Gary Kavanagh revealed how 96% of salaries at the National Women’s Council of Ireland are paid for directly by grants from government departments and the HSE.
As a leading campaign group supporting a ‘yes yes’ vote in the upcoming referenda on ‘women in the home’ and ‘the family’, Kavanagh questioned whether the NWCI’s reliance on government funding compromised their position as an independent campaign group.
Read the full report here.
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Good bless Michael McDowell, the peoples champion.
Roderick O Gorman et al are activists and have no place in running a country.
Martin is a playing the part of the nodding donkey, I shall never vote FF again
.Either Aontu or Independent Ireland for me going forward.
Everyone has to rally all the family, friends and neighbour’s to vote No and No .
And let’s be aware that these Far left are very capable of stuffing ballot boxes .
I sure these dodgy opinion polls are preparing the ground for something sinester
The regime is following an entrapment agenda for the Irish people and they dare not let us know what they want to do! The real ultimate target is associated with the Agenda 2030 of the WEF and UN… and therefore the EU too! This represents treachery in a republic, as the people should hold the power and decide their laws. Any under-handed behaviour/deception to do otherwise should be duly punished.
100% I couldn’t agree more with you. I’m relieved at the sanity of people at the moment. Fair play to you.
Have a look at the Irish Freedom Party as well
Can’t disagree with you, but many remain loyal to their preferred party no matter how distasteful they consider their policies and/or performance.
In rallying friends, family and neighbours, this is a “circle” that CAN be “squared” thanks to the much maligned STV system.
In all constituencies, each of the parties runs a second expected to lose candidate whose only real reason for being on the ballot is to sweep up transfer votes for the party’s leading candidate.
Party loyalty can be maintained if desired simply by not voting for the party’s preferred candidate and voting no 1 for the second expected to lose candidate.
Aontu? Someone posted a link recently showing that Peadar lobbied to bring in Afghans into the country.
Considering the history of a hidden agenda in a referendum the lack of transparency here should be a huge warning signal to anybody who is still undecided.
The only safe thing to do is to vote No.
We are privileged to have Senator Mc Dowell, a man of intellect and integrity
The sooner we rid ourselves of ROG and hiis ilk, the better
Hear hear
By peaceful, lawful democratic means
Peaceful yes .
But if any of these traitors of the Irish were drowning, l would not throw a rope.
Would you?
Get a long stick and push them further out maybe?
So the public are being treated like mushrooms, be kept in the dark and fed a diet of manure from time to time.
anyone who intends to vote yes yes need to look up what a democracy is and then research o gorman and his ilk ..aided and abetted by varadkar martin mcentee ..traitors all the lot of them
The people who are responsible for counting of the votes are the equivalent of ngo’s, they are paid for the work done, will the electorate be done, this thought tells how a citzen has come to mistrust the present government.”an angry young man ” Mr mcdowell.
We need people to MONITOR the elections
The public should be informed of all information, advice and reports which influenced the Government in making decisions on these matters and any other legislation which affects the lives of the citizens. That should also apply to the Attorney General’s advice on proposed legislation. At present the Government selectively releases this information if it suits their agenda. We need ‘glasnost’ but it seems that the Government prefers to operate like the pre-Gorbachev Russian Government.
I do not necessarily agree with, or put my faith in Vladimir P, however his calm delivery of his POV was impressive
Judges and juries are not normally permitted to make adverse inferences from an accused’s exercise of its right to remain silent.
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A referendum is not a trial. It is a formal request from the Government to its masters, the people from whom its powers and responsibilities derive, to make a change to the Constitution. This is a very serious matter requiring full transparency of the pros and cons of the proposed change. The Master is always entitled to all the information available to the Servant.
Thus, there is no legitimate or Constitutional basis for withholding the information in question from the people.
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In that case, the only rational choice for a voter to make is to make the reasonable inference that the information being withheld is so damaging to the Governments case that were it published, the referendum would be certain not to be approved, and that therefore, a “No” vote rejecting the proposed change is required.
Exactly. Well put.
This government can be described in one word – sinister. They are a clear and present danger to this nation
This is an absolute Disgrace.
VOTE NO NO
Varadkar, O’Gorman et al are evil incarnate.
Yes they are they have an agenda for sure, I think they have dirt on other politicians and hierarchy, the files o Gorman lost the lies varadkar told along with the leaking of information all went off as if they were trivial, I don’t think they would of got off so lightly in other countries. Or if it had of been someone else.
It’s mainly because they get such an easy time from MSM that they get off so lightly.
One could argue that in other countries the press can be too ferocious but in Ireland it is laughable how tame and timid they are. Ben Scallan has become the most formidable journalist in Ireland to regularly attend press conferences but instead of that earning him admiration from others in his profession they give the definite impression that they would love to shut him , and Gript , down. That says a lot about their own obsequiousness to power. If MSM won’t hold authority to account then those in authority will indeed , as you rightly say, get off lightly .
Increasingly, the Irish public are asking if our politicians realise that the majority of our voters are uneducated and uninterested in political matters……here’s your answer! In this case i.e. the approaching Referenda, they know and expect the majority to vote YES and YES. Let’s prove them wrong!
I’m one of those men who has waited years for the opportunity to acknowledge the many merits and virtues extolled by the many women in my life. This is my chance!
I’ll be voting NO and NO.
“the process that led to these constitutional amendments being rushed through the Dáil and Seanad by Minister O’Gorman using guillotine motions to prevent proper debate”.
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Article 28.4.1 of the Constitution states very simply and unambiguously:
“the Government shall be responsible to Dáil Éireann.”
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The guillotine is a parliamentary procedural rule carried over from the Imperial parliament at Westminster after independence. Along with the whip, It is used to ensure measures important to the Government are approved by the parliament. In other words, it is used to subordinate the parliament to the Government.
It is used when the Government is either incapable of, or unwilling to, make the effort to persuade the Dail that its proposed legislation is desirable and chooses instead to compel approval.
The Constitution was approved and effected in 1937 and made Government responsible to, i.e, subordinate to, Dail Eireann.
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One cannot be responsible to a subordinate.
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I maintain that use of the whip and guillotine to ensure Dail approval of Government supported legislation amount to subordination of the Dail to the Government and are therefore unconstitutional, being in violation of Article 28.4.1.
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Is anyone appealing the FoI decision to the Information Commission (if that is his correct title?)