Statement: Senator Bacik Welcomes Announcement on Constitutional Convention

SENATOR BACIK WELCOMES ANNOUNCEMENT ON CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

Senator Ivana Bacik, Labour Senator for Dublin University,
Wednesday 22nd February2012

Speaking today on the Order of Business in the Seanad, Senator Ivana Bacik welcomed the announcement thatthe Constitutional Convention would be established shortly.

Senator Bacik said:

“I welcome this announcement.There is a real appetite for political and constitutional reform, and thisConstitutional Convention, which many of us had been seeking for some monthsnow, is an important step towards bringing about reforms. It also providesa way in which citizens can become meaningfully engaged in reform debates,and I very much look forward to more details about its structures whenthey are developed.

Senator Bacik also said:

“I hope that one of the firstrecommendations to be made by the Convention will be to replace the outdatedclause currently in the Fundamental Rights Articles of the Constitutionon ‘women's place in the home' and the duties of ‘mothers' specifically.There can be little controversy now about this, and it would be a reallypositive step to replace these clauses with a gender-neutral recognitionof the role of parents and/or carers in the home.”

ENDS