Summary
In response to the decision of the Convention (on 19 May last) to consider direct
democracy, this article from theJournal.ie (http://jrnl.ie/784031) calls for a balancing of our
political power.
This EUROPEAN YEAR of Citizens prompts us to look abroad for models to improve the way
we govern ourselves. I propose that we provide ourselves with a means to control the
political process between elections, similar to that which the Swiss have had since the mid
1800s.
Citizens’ initiative is a means to increase the primary control of the people. Direct
democracy is an ever-present reminder to Government that it depends on the people. It is
the essential way to ensure that the government responses to change match the real
requirements of the people.
Swissstyle direct democracy offers us a means of rebuilding our trust in governance, which
has been abused by politicians, parties, parliaments, policy makers, public servants and
lobbyists.
Other submissions I have made
1. Direct Democracy on 8 February 2013 Direct Participation in Politics
https://www.constitution.ie/SubmissionDetails.aspx?sid=3f93c884-cf71-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
2. Our Electoral System on 13 May 2013 Reviewing our Electoral System solves what problem?
https://www.constitution.ie/SubmissionDetails.aspx?sid=ba665b7f-b6bb-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
3. Electoral Reform – a red herring? Donal de Buitléir’s review (from the IPA journal
Administration 35/2 1987) of the 1986 report of the New Zealand Royal Commission on the
Electoral System
https://www.constitution.ie/AttachmentDownload.ashx?aid=c2665b7f-b6bb-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
4. Non-Parliamentary Ministers on 24 May 2013 Recasting Government with nonParliamentary Ministers
https://www.constitution.ie/SubmissionDetails.aspx?sid=2a57c37d-50c4-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
5. Less TDs – a real sign of political reform on 29 May 2013
https://www.constitution.ie/AttachmentDownload.ashx?aid=63ec43d1-6fc7-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
6. Need Government Fail? A 1987 article on non-parliamentary Ministers on 31 May 2103
https://www.constitution.ie/AttachmentDownload.ashx?aid=a2479533-dac9-e211-a5a0005056a32ee4
In response to the decision of the Convention (on 19 May last) to consider direct democracy, this article from theJournal.ie (http://jrnl.ie/784031) call for a balancing of our political power. Citizens’ initiative is a means to increase the primary control of the people. Direct democracy is an ever‐present reminder to Government that it depends on the people. It is the essential way to ensure that the government responses to change match the real requirements of the people. What better way to mark the European Year of Citizens than by focusing on how we can rebalance our political power? Based on the republican ideals of the French Revolution, Swissstyle direct democracy offers us a means of rebuilding our trust in governance, which has been abused by politicians, parties, parliaments, policy makers, public servants and lobbyists. theJournal.ie
http://jrnl.ie/784031
Donal O'Brolchain
Let's Rebalance our Political Power
Page 1 of 3
Column: To mark the European Year of Citizens, let’s
rebalance Ireland’s political power
“Citizens’ initiative” is a mechanism to control the political process between elections – and Ireland sorely needs it,
writes Donal Ó Brolcháin.
06/02/13
THIS EUROPEAN YEAR of Citizens prompts us to look abroad for models
to improve the way we govern ourselves. In this article I propose that we
provide ourselves with a mechanism to control the political process between
elections, similar to that which the Swiss have had since the mid 1800s.
Donal Ó Brolcháin
Article 6 of our Constitution states that: “All powers of government,
legislative, executive and judicial, derive, under God, from the people,
whose right it is to designate all the rulers of the State and, in the final
appeal, to decide all questions of national policy, according to the
requirements of the common good”.
We delegate power to our elected representatives with the result that between elections we
temporarily lose our political power. We have no method to intervene if those to whom we have
delegated our power do not use it as we would wish.
Citizens’ initiative
Citizens’ initiative is a means of controlling our government between elections. It is a formal
method whereby a group of citizens can call for a referendum by securing enough voters’ signatures
– to propose or oppose legislation including changes to the Constitution. It is a form of direct
democracy that complements the indirect democracy on which we currently rely.
Direct democracy would allow us to propose laws that government or legislators are either unable
or unwilling to propose. The re-introduction of residential property taxes shows weaknesses in the
way government currently works. During 2012 about one-third of households did not pay this new
tax. This indicates that without enhanced means of ensuring democratic legitimacy, policy is not
effective even when agreed with the EU-ECB-IMF Troika.
During the 1960s, the late Dr David Thornley pointed out the effects of such external pressures on
our democracy: “There may be change in the criteria of decision-making at the top; change in social
habits at the bottom. But unless these two are bridged by the mutual education of the democratic
process, communication between the top and the bottom may cease. In Ireland, where the stimulus
to change is external, something like this may in fact be happening…”
Current discussions on economic policies and abortion suggest that this gap in communication
exists as it did 50 years ago.
Democracy is never easy
Recently, the Swiss President Doris Leuthard pointed out that:
Democracy is hard work – sweat and often uncomfortable confrontation. Democracy
lives in ‘the conflict of interests and opinions – but also in the wisdom to recognise the
limitations of this conflict’. Democracy is never easy – especially in an increasingly
theJournal.ie
http://jrnl.ie/784031
Donal O'Brolchain
Let's Rebalance our Political Power
Page 2 of 3
globalised world, in which state borders become more and more porous. In our country,
democracy is not ‘the rule of the politician’ as defined by Joseph A Schumpeter. In
Switzerland there is a direct trade-off and active participation in shaping policy between
the political establishment and the voters via the right of initiative. Here the initiative
and referendum process has become a direct political feedback loop.
Over the past 150 years, the Swiss have developed methods of direct political feedback. This has
inspired the introduction of direct democracy elsewhere, eg US. The Swiss now have direct
democracy at both national and local levels. Federal legislation (except budgets) can be subject to a
petition leading to a full referendum. At a local level, some Cantons (eg Zurich) have citizens’
initiative on budgetary matters.
In Switzerland, there are referenda on more than a dozen federal laws each year.All it needs is for
some group to find 50,000 electors (about 1.2 per cent of the electorate) who sign a form
demanding a referendum within 100 days. The possibility of a call for a referendum means that
those proposing legislation take much greater care in its preparation.
Three changes are needed
Introducing direct democracy into our constitution needs three principal major changes to our
Constitution
1. A clear statement that the people, as the source of legitimate power of the State, have the right to
exercise that power directly on their own initiative, to propose a referendum to revise the
Constitution or any law. This could be done by adding a new section to Article 6 of the
Constitution.
2. Setting out the forms and requirements of citizens’ initiative, in terms of:
• the number of signatures needed from persons eligible to vote (eg, 1 per cent of those voting
in the previous general election or just over 22,000 based on the 2011 general election)
• the timeframe within which these signatures are to be collected
• the right of the Dáil to make a counter proposal (this could be done by replacing Article 27
which has never been used)
3. Specifying the timeframe within which the outcome of any referendum must be implemented.
This is needed to overcome “implementation deficit disorder” (eg the “X” case). This could be
done by replacing Article 47.2, which refers only to Article 27.
European Citizens’ Initiative
It would be relatively easy to validate voters’ signatures for citizens’ initiative. In fact, most of the
work has already been done with the introduction of a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which
took effect on 1 April 2012. This is a consequence of the Lisbon Treaty, which most Irish political
parties supported.
As Madison, one of those who drew up the US constitution over two hundred years ago, outlined:
“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. In framing a government which is to be
administered by men over men the great difficulty lies in this: first you must enable the government
to control the governed and in the next place, you must oblige it to control itself. A dependence on
the people is no doubt the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind
the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
Citizens’ initiative is a means to increase the primary control of the people. Direct democracy is an
ever-present reminder to Government that it depends on the people. It is the essential way to ensure
that the government responses to change match the real requirements of the people.
What better way to mark the European Year of Citizens than by focusing on how we can
theJournal.ie
http://jrnl.ie/784031
Donal O'Brolchain
Let's Rebalance our Political Power
Page 3 of 3
rebalancing our political power? Based on the republican ideals of the French Revolution, Swissstyle direct democracy offers us a means of rebuilding our trust in governance, which has been
abused by politicians, parties, parliaments, policy makers, public servants and lobbyists.
For further consideration of the ideas in this article, see “The Mutual Education of the Democratic
Process – a case for Citizens’ Initiative and direct democracy” – Donal O’Brolchain’s contribution
to the Shadow Constitutional Convention series (edited by Dr Eoin Daly, School of Law UCD) in
the web-forum Human Rights in Ireland here.