Government plans to give politicians radically beefed up powers of investigation have been defeated, dealing a huge blow to the coalition.
While a referendum to cut judges’ pay was unanimously supported, a second vote on whether to allow the Oireachtas hold major inquiries into matters of public importance was rejected.
It had been opposed by eight former attorneys general.
Alan Shatter, the Justice Minister who championed the defeated reform, denied he had been arrogant in dismissing the advice of the leading lawyers.
“When something goes wrong no-one is ever criticised, everything comes down to systemic failure,” he said.
The public voted the planned reform down 53% against.
Amid concerns that the proposed inquiries had the power to infringe individual reputations, Mr Shatter had argued adequate protections would be in place, including court appeals.
Some groups claimed it would lead to a shift in power from the courts to the Oireachtas as an institution, and politicians.
There were also many reports nationwide of voter confusion on polling day on Thursday and a lack of clarity over the potential impact.
Government TDs also conceded that the focus on the presidential campaign over the last month affected communication and debate on the plans.
Mr Shatter said: “The message is put out very clearly but it depends on how much media coverage it gets. People get their politics and information from current affairs programmes and the broadcast media.”
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties opposed the reform.
The referendum on judges pay was passed by more than one million votes, 79% in favour.
The Government will now be given the power to cut judges’ salaries proportionately if and when public servants’ pay is reduced in the public interest.
They will also be subject to the public pensions levy.
The second ballot on the Oireachtas inquiries narrowly failed – 928,175 votes against and 812,008 in favour
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Judges pay referendum passed, Oireachtas inquiry amendment in danger
It is now all but certain that voters have rejected the referendum to give more powers of inquiry to the Oireachtas.
In the past hour it has been announced people voted for judges pay to be cut by a margin of four to one.
The final result on the judges pay referendum was 1,393,877 for it and 354,134 against the 29th Amendment to the Constitution.
However, as counting continues of ballots on the 30th Amendment the result looks set to be very different.
The Government's bid to give more powers of investigation to the Oireachtas looks set to be rejected.
With more than half of all 43 constituencies in, it looks increasinly likely it will be rejected by 54% to 46
%
In the past hour it has been announced people voted for judges pay to be cut by a margin of four to one.
The final result on the judges pay referendum was 1,393,877 for it and 354,134 against the 29th Amendment to the Constitution.
However, as counting continues of ballots on the 30th Amendment the result looks set to be very different.
The Government's bid to give more powers of investigation to the Oireachtas looks set to be rejected.
With more than half of all 43 constituencies in, it looks increasinly likely it will be rejected by 54% to 46
%
Referendum on judicial pay expected to be passed
The first result of the referendum on judicial pay is due and is expected to be accepted.
Voters are expected to have backed Government plans to cut judicial pay, but the second one to give powers of investigation to the Oireachtas looks increasingly likely to be rejected.
A result of the judicial pay referendum is expected to be overwhelmingly accepted by a margin of four to one.
However, so far 54% are rejecting the 30th Amendment to give more powers of investigation to the Oireachtas, with 46% in favour.
Wexford bucked the trend and is the only constituency so far to vote in favour.
Already the blame game has started, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said his Cabinet colleage Brendan Howlin was in charge of the 30th Amendement, and he in turn has blamed the chair of the Referendum Commission.
Voters are expected to have backed Government plans to cut judicial pay, but the second one to give powers of investigation to the Oireachtas looks increasingly likely to be rejected.
A result of the judicial pay referendum is expected to be overwhelmingly accepted by a margin of four to one.
However, so far 54% are rejecting the 30th Amendment to give more powers of investigation to the Oireachtas, with 46% in favour.
Wexford bucked the trend and is the only constituency so far to vote in favour.
Already the blame game has started, Justice Minister Alan Shatter has said his Cabinet colleage Brendan Howlin was in charge of the 30th Amendement, and he in turn has blamed the chair of the Referendum Commission.
Higgins vows to change Irish values
Ireland’s President-elect Michael D Higgins has vowed to lead the country in a necessary transformation away from values based on wealth.
After securing more than 1 million votes, the Labour veteran said he will be a President for all.
Mr Higgins said his seven year term as head of state will be defined by efforts to turn inclusion into reality.
The 70-year-old’s resounding victory was formally announced in Dublin Castle marking one of the most remarkable swings in support in an election.
In an impassioned and powerful speech, he set the tone for his presidency with a pledge to lead a sea change in the values of society.
“I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless possibilities for our people,” he said.
“As we leave behind a narrow revisionism that valued a person for what was assumed to be their accumulated wealth but neglected the connection between the person, the social, the community and the nation. That is what we all leave behind now for which a million people have given me a mandate.
Mr Higgins success, secured after transfers from four counts, is the largest total in an Irish presidential election.
“Now we must respond collectively and co-operatively for what we all must recognise as our shared problems – be it unemployment, mortgage distress or any form of exclusion,” he said.
“We must now work to our strengths at home and abroad. Not only co-operatively and collectively but sustainably for the benefit of all our of our present generations and those to come.
“The necessary transformation of which I speak and of which my presidency will be a part is built on turning creative possibilities into living realities for all our people.”
Mr Higgins, a poet, professor and campaigner, will be inaugurated on November 11.
He said that he felt the campaign had been ageist at times.
The victory came after one of the most remarkable political comebacks ever. He seized an unprecedented 15% swing in support following the spectacular implosion of his biggest rival, independent Sean Gallagher, on live television in the final days of the campaign.
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, who finished third in the poll, said: “It’s been a real privilege and honour for me to stand for the presidency of my country.
“He is (Mr Higgins) is a man of great intellectual capacity and man of huge heart and I’ve every confidence that he will be one of Ireland’s finest presidents.”
One of his first aims is to hold presidential seminars with the first focusing on youth issues of social inclusion, employment, emigration and suicide.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny also attended the declaration and said Mr Higgins will be an outstanding President.
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore (deputy prime minister) and Labour leader described Mr Higgins as the life, and the soul, of the party.
Mr Higgins said he has no intention of serving a second term.
He said that one of the toughest things in the campaign was questions over his physical fitness while he was deeply moved by young people’s desire for a new Republic and elder people’s wish to create a new society for the young.
Mr Higgins also said he would continue efforts of outgoing President Mary McAleese to cement the work of the peace process in Northern Ireland.
He said he would engage with people and bring sophistication to what he called a “politics of memory” as plans are made to commemorate major historical events such as the 1916 Easter Rising and World War One.
President McAleese said: “His success in the Presidential election marks the start of an exciting chapter for our country, our global Irish family and for the Higgins family.”
Two candidates who polled poorly, Gay Mitchell of the ruling coalition party Fine Gael and independent Mary Davis, broke with protocol and did not attend the formal declaration.
Mr Higgins said: “The reconnection of society, economy and ethics is a project we cannot postpone.
“I have encountered in this long campaign an enthusiasm for an Irishness that will be built on recognising again those sources from which spring the best of our reason and curiosity.
“But even more important the powerful instinct for decency which must be at the heart of a real Republic.
“The celebration of the power of the collective in pursuit of the best of ourselves and built too on the power of culture, science and technology delivered through the contemporary genius of our people.
“Ireland has made its choice for the future and it has chosen the version of Irishness it will build.
“I know, and I will work with head and heart to be part of it with all of you in creating that future one in which all of us can be part of and part of us too.”
After securing more than 1 million votes, the Labour veteran said he will be a President for all.
Mr Higgins said his seven year term as head of state will be defined by efforts to turn inclusion into reality.
The 70-year-old’s resounding victory was formally announced in Dublin Castle marking one of the most remarkable swings in support in an election.
In an impassioned and powerful speech, he set the tone for his presidency with a pledge to lead a sea change in the values of society.
“I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless possibilities for our people,” he said.
“As we leave behind a narrow revisionism that valued a person for what was assumed to be their accumulated wealth but neglected the connection between the person, the social, the community and the nation. That is what we all leave behind now for which a million people have given me a mandate.
Mr Higgins success, secured after transfers from four counts, is the largest total in an Irish presidential election.
“Now we must respond collectively and co-operatively for what we all must recognise as our shared problems – be it unemployment, mortgage distress or any form of exclusion,” he said.
“We must now work to our strengths at home and abroad. Not only co-operatively and collectively but sustainably for the benefit of all our of our present generations and those to come.
“The necessary transformation of which I speak and of which my presidency will be a part is built on turning creative possibilities into living realities for all our people.”
Mr Higgins, a poet, professor and campaigner, will be inaugurated on November 11.
He said that he felt the campaign had been ageist at times.
The victory came after one of the most remarkable political comebacks ever. He seized an unprecedented 15% swing in support following the spectacular implosion of his biggest rival, independent Sean Gallagher, on live television in the final days of the campaign.
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, who finished third in the poll, said: “It’s been a real privilege and honour for me to stand for the presidency of my country.
“He is (Mr Higgins) is a man of great intellectual capacity and man of huge heart and I’ve every confidence that he will be one of Ireland’s finest presidents.”
One of his first aims is to hold presidential seminars with the first focusing on youth issues of social inclusion, employment, emigration and suicide.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny also attended the declaration and said Mr Higgins will be an outstanding President.
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore (deputy prime minister) and Labour leader described Mr Higgins as the life, and the soul, of the party.
Mr Higgins said he has no intention of serving a second term.
He said that one of the toughest things in the campaign was questions over his physical fitness while he was deeply moved by young people’s desire for a new Republic and elder people’s wish to create a new society for the young.
Mr Higgins also said he would continue efforts of outgoing President Mary McAleese to cement the work of the peace process in Northern Ireland.
He said he would engage with people and bring sophistication to what he called a “politics of memory” as plans are made to commemorate major historical events such as the 1916 Easter Rising and World War One.
President McAleese said: “His success in the Presidential election marks the start of an exciting chapter for our country, our global Irish family and for the Higgins family.”
Two candidates who polled poorly, Gay Mitchell of the ruling coalition party Fine Gael and independent Mary Davis, broke with protocol and did not attend the formal declaration.
Mr Higgins said: “The reconnection of society, economy and ethics is a project we cannot postpone.
“I have encountered in this long campaign an enthusiasm for an Irishness that will be built on recognising again those sources from which spring the best of our reason and curiosity.
“But even more important the powerful instinct for decency which must be at the heart of a real Republic.
“The celebration of the power of the collective in pursuit of the best of ourselves and built too on the power of culture, science and technology delivered through the contemporary genius of our people.
“Ireland has made its choice for the future and it has chosen the version of Irishness it will build.
“I know, and I will work with head and heart to be part of it with all of you in creating that future one in which all of us can be part of and part of us too.”
Higgins' victory speech
Here is an edited version of President-elect Michael D Higgins’ victory speech from the National Count Centre in Dublin Castle after securing 1,007,104 votes.
“I will be a President for all the people and from this moment I will cease to be a member and president of the Labour Party, a party which has informed my thinking and the ethos of my life, a party whose centenary, founded by James Connolly and James Larkin, will be celebrated next year.
“For the presidency is an independent office and the Irish people, of which I appreciate so much, and, I think with this responsibility, have given a very clear mandate on a very clear set of ideas to me as the ninth President of Ireland.
“I would like to thank sincerely those who voted for me but I also acknowledge those who voted for other candidates who, during a long and difficult campaign, offered many valuable suggestions which I hope to include and encompass over the next seven years.
“And I want to be a President too for those who did not vote, whose trust in public institutions I will encourage and work to recover. And always in my mind too will be those who have gone away and I will be their President.
“The oath that I will take when I am inaugurated ’I dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland’ is a great responsibility.
“The mandate I have received and for which I will speak with heart and head to implement over the next seven years had its four pillars – an inclusive citizenship, equality and participation and respect in a creative society creating an excellence in everything we Irish do.
“Making an Irishness to be proud of in a real Republic.
“It is the vision of a real Republic where life and language, where ideals and experience have the ring of authenticity which we need now as we go forward.
“And during a long campaign, which for me as I have said was almost 14 months since I first sought a nomination for the Labour Party, I saw and felt and feel the pain of the Irish people.
“I recognise the need for a reflection on those values and assumptions often carelessly taken, that they brought us to a sorry path in social and economic terms for which such a high price has been paid and is being paid.
“I recognise the right to anger but I also saw the need for healing and to move past recrimination.
“I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless possibilities for our people.
“As we leave behind a narrow revisionism that valued a person for what was assumed to be their accumulated wealth but neglected the connection between the person, the social, the community and the nation. That is what we all leave behind now for which a million people have given me a mandate.
“Now we must respond collectively and co-operatively for what we all must recognise as our shared problems – be it unemployment, mortgage distress or any form of exclusion.
“We must now work to our strengths at home and abroad. Not only co-operatively and collectively but sustainably for the benefit of all our of our present generations and those to come.
“The necessary transformation of which I speak and of which my presidency will be a part is built on turning creative possibilities into living realities for all our people.
“And I believe, and this was the wonderful things about going around the country, I believe that transformation has already begun.
“During the long campaign I felt it in one community after another being those who are creating strategies with or for the unemployed, those working in care, those working in pre-school and after school clubs, those great citizens.
“Everywhere good people have commenced a journey to a version of Irishness of which we can be proud.
“And this campaign, we must never forget, involved a choice as to which version we would choose for the next seven years and one we wanted ourselves at home and abroad.
“This necessary transformation, which has now begun, will I hope result in making the values of equality, respect and participation in an active citizenship the characteristic of the next seven years.
“The reconnection of society, economy and ethics is a project we cannot postpone.
“I have encountered in this long campaign an enthusiasm for an Irishness that will be built on recognising again those sources from which spring the best of our reason and curiosity.
“But even more important the powerful instinct for decency which must be at the heart of a real Republic.
“The celebration of the power of the collective in pursuit of the best of ourselves and built too on the power of culture, science and technology delivered through the contemporary genius of our people.
“Ireland has made its choice for the future and it has chosen the version of Irishness it will build.
“I know, and I will work with head and heart to be part of it with all of you in creating that future one in which all of us can be part of and part of us too.”
“I will be a President for all the people and from this moment I will cease to be a member and president of the Labour Party, a party which has informed my thinking and the ethos of my life, a party whose centenary, founded by James Connolly and James Larkin, will be celebrated next year.
“For the presidency is an independent office and the Irish people, of which I appreciate so much, and, I think with this responsibility, have given a very clear mandate on a very clear set of ideas to me as the ninth President of Ireland.
“I would like to thank sincerely those who voted for me but I also acknowledge those who voted for other candidates who, during a long and difficult campaign, offered many valuable suggestions which I hope to include and encompass over the next seven years.
“And I want to be a President too for those who did not vote, whose trust in public institutions I will encourage and work to recover. And always in my mind too will be those who have gone away and I will be their President.
“The oath that I will take when I am inaugurated ’I dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland’ is a great responsibility.
“The mandate I have received and for which I will speak with heart and head to implement over the next seven years had its four pillars – an inclusive citizenship, equality and participation and respect in a creative society creating an excellence in everything we Irish do.
“Making an Irishness to be proud of in a real Republic.
“It is the vision of a real Republic where life and language, where ideals and experience have the ring of authenticity which we need now as we go forward.
“And during a long campaign, which for me as I have said was almost 14 months since I first sought a nomination for the Labour Party, I saw and felt and feel the pain of the Irish people.
“I recognise the need for a reflection on those values and assumptions often carelessly taken, that they brought us to a sorry path in social and economic terms for which such a high price has been paid and is being paid.
“I recognise the right to anger but I also saw the need for healing and to move past recrimination.
“I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless possibilities for our people.
“As we leave behind a narrow revisionism that valued a person for what was assumed to be their accumulated wealth but neglected the connection between the person, the social, the community and the nation. That is what we all leave behind now for which a million people have given me a mandate.
“Now we must respond collectively and co-operatively for what we all must recognise as our shared problems – be it unemployment, mortgage distress or any form of exclusion.
“We must now work to our strengths at home and abroad. Not only co-operatively and collectively but sustainably for the benefit of all our of our present generations and those to come.
“The necessary transformation of which I speak and of which my presidency will be a part is built on turning creative possibilities into living realities for all our people.
“And I believe, and this was the wonderful things about going around the country, I believe that transformation has already begun.
“During the long campaign I felt it in one community after another being those who are creating strategies with or for the unemployed, those working in care, those working in pre-school and after school clubs, those great citizens.
“Everywhere good people have commenced a journey to a version of Irishness of which we can be proud.
“And this campaign, we must never forget, involved a choice as to which version we would choose for the next seven years and one we wanted ourselves at home and abroad.
“This necessary transformation, which has now begun, will I hope result in making the values of equality, respect and participation in an active citizenship the characteristic of the next seven years.
“The reconnection of society, economy and ethics is a project we cannot postpone.
“I have encountered in this long campaign an enthusiasm for an Irishness that will be built on recognising again those sources from which spring the best of our reason and curiosity.
“But even more important the powerful instinct for decency which must be at the heart of a real Republic.
“The celebration of the power of the collective in pursuit of the best of ourselves and built too on the power of culture, science and technology delivered through the contemporary genius of our people.
“Ireland has made its choice for the future and it has chosen the version of Irishness it will build.
“I know, and I will work with head and heart to be part of it with all of you in creating that future one in which all of us can be part of and part of us too.”
Referendum on Oireachtas powers in danger of being rejected
Early indications are that the constitutional ammendment on judicial pay looks likely to be passed, but the proposal to allow TDs and Senators carry out inquiries is far from certain.
The first results coming in from the referendums are spelling trouble for the Government.
On the referendum to give more powers of inquiry to the Oireachtas, results from 10 constituencies shows 54% of people voting it down.
So far only Wexford has voted for the 30th Amendment.
The cutting of judicial pay referendum so far appears to have the backing of up to 80% of the population.
It is understood that the ballots have been counted and verifed in many of the 43 constituencies around the country.
However, even senior Government Ministers are admitting that the amendment on giving the Oireachtas powers to conduct inquiries may not be passed.
Minister Brendan Howlin has said he has concerned, but isn't conceding defeat ye
t
The first results coming in from the referendums are spelling trouble for the Government.
On the referendum to give more powers of inquiry to the Oireachtas, results from 10 constituencies shows 54% of people voting it down.
So far only Wexford has voted for the 30th Amendment.
The cutting of judicial pay referendum so far appears to have the backing of up to 80% of the population.
It is understood that the ballots have been counted and verifed in many of the 43 constituencies around the country.
However, even senior Government Ministers are admitting that the amendment on giving the Oireachtas powers to conduct inquiries may not be passed.
Minister Brendan Howlin has said he has concerned, but isn't conceding defeat ye
t
Higgins a 'President for everyone'
The Presidential returning officer Ríona Ni Fhlanghaile has announced that Michael D Higgins is the President-Elect of Ireland.
The 70-year-old Galway man secured more than a million votes to become President designate.
He has been given a scroll, verified by the Chief Justice, ahead of his inauguration in Dublin Castle on November 11.
In his victory speech Michael D Higgins said he wants to be "a President for everyone, those who didn't vote and those who have left our shores"
The 70-year-old Galway man secured more than a million votes to become President designate.
He has been given a scroll, verified by the Chief Justice, ahead of his inauguration in Dublin Castle on November 11.
In his victory speech Michael D Higgins said he wants to be "a President for everyone, those who didn't vote and those who have left our shores"
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