Minister Roderic O’Gorman’s department says it will not release minutes of meetings it held in relation to Constitutional changes that would likely take place should the upcoming referendums on the definition of the family and article 41.2 which is commonly referred to as ‘women in the home’ should pass.
Independent TD for Laois/Offaly Carol Nolan had asked O’Gorman to “publish in full the minutes and documents associated with the Interdepartmental Group that met to discuss the forthcoming referenda on the Constitution” and to “provide details of the membership of the Group; the number of times it met; the attendees at each meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter.”
In answer to the parliamentary question submitted by Deputy Nolan, the Minister for Children; Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said “In line with the McKenna and McCrystal principles on the use of public funds in a referendum, all papers in the relation to the work of the Interdepartmental Group are precluded from publication until after the referendum votes have taken place.”
It further stated that. “As the Bills have now been passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, it is the responsibility of An Coimisiun Toghchain, the Electoral Commission, to prepare a statement or statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposals for the referendums and of the text hereof in the relevant Bills and any other information relating to those matters that the Commission considers appropriate.”
“It is also the function of the Electoral Commission to promote public awareness of referendums and to encourage people to vote.” it said.
Last week former Attorney General, Senator Michael McDowell, blasted Minister O’Gorman’s refusal to release the minutes of the meetings saying it was an attempt to ‘pervert the democratic process’ and accusing the minister’s department of engaging in a “cover up”.
As Gript previously reported: 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 meeting.
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 adapted.”
“There is no justification for this departmental cover-up of the processes and considerations that have led to these flawed referendum proposals.” he said.