Referendums are not the problem – its the Constitution . . . .
Irish Politics Forum
by Theresa Reidy
2w ago
By Ken Carty, The University of British Columbia. Well over a decade ago now Theresa Reidy posted a blog comment asking “Referendums in Ireland, how many more can we take?” Rather than addressing the numerical question head on she went on to note how ineffective the process was as a mechanism for democratic policy-making. Few disagreed, and the country has finally created an electoral commission that was given its first outing during the recent ‘women and care’ referendums. Whatever the judgment on the commission’s impact on the process, the overwhelming defeat of the two referendums again giv ..read more
Visit website
Post referendum reflections
Irish Politics Forum
by Michael Gallagher
2w ago
By Michael Gallagher 1. Previous post didn’t contain a prediction, but did observe that there were many considerations that could lead electors to a No vote while the benefits of a Yes outcome were uncertain and contested. Margin of defeat for the two proposals has taken everyone by surprise. 2. Many of the Yes advocates virtually held their noses while calling for a Yes; at pains to stress that the wording on offer wasn’t really what they wanted, damned it with faint praise as ‘better than nothing’ or ‘at least a step in the right direction’. All the conviction and passion seemed to be on the ..read more
Visit website
The outcome of the March 2024 referendums
Irish Politics Forum
by Michael Gallagher
2w ago
By Michael Gallagher So, the nation is (far from) convulsed by the two referendums that will take place on Friday, the ‘family amendment’ and the ‘care amendment’. (Of course, these could be seen as merely the warm-up before the really big referendum of the year, the eagerly-awaited vote on the Unified Patent Court that’s due to take place on the same day in June as the local and European elections.) Uncertainty as to the outcomes is higher than usual. The issues at stake are somewhat ill defined; the consequences of a Yes vote for either amendment are disputed, with different observers able t ..read more
Visit website
The Cost of Doing Politics in Ireland: A Survey of Politicians’ Experiences of Political Violence
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
1M ago
This blog marks the launch of preliminary results from a national survey of candidates on the topic of political violence in the Republic of Ireland. The survey was carried out by Fiona Buckley (UCC), Lisa Keenan (TCD), and Mack Mariani (Xavier University), and is part of the cross-national The Cost of Doing Politics: Gender Aspects of Political Violence project. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in media reporting of violence against people involved in Irish political life. Political violence has important implications for the health of democracies in general, and researc ..read more
Visit website
My Word!  ‘Preferendum’… et Maintenant le Préférendum
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
6M ago
By Peter Emerson, Director of the de Borda Institute. Ireland’s contributions to the development of the world’s democratic structures have not been many… and not always positive.  In 1818, the first dictator to get 100% in a referendum when he became El Supremo is Chile was the Irishman, Bernardo O’Higgins.  Thus he put into second place his French counterpart, for on becoming l’empereur in 1803, Napoléon Bonaparte had won only a paltry 99.7%. On the more positive side, Ireland has played a leading role in developing the world’s use of citizens’ assemblies, and of particular relevanc ..read more
Visit website
Why is it so difficult to provide maternity leave for TDs and Senators?
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
6M ago
Sinéad McMahon is a student on the Master’s in Gender, Politics and International Relations programme at University College Dublin. This post is based on the findings of her final-year dissertation, which was undertaken as part of the BSc Government and Political Science degree at University College Cork. The provision of maternity leave for Oireachtas members has been recommended by the Forum on a Family-Friendly and Inclusive Parliament, the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality, and its absence has been criticised by NGOs, academics and ..read more
Visit website
Constituencies review 2023: the bigger picture
Irish Politics Forum
by Michael Gallagher
7M ago
By Michael Gallagher Lots of well-informed fine-grained analysis around of the constituency review published earlier this week by the Electoral Commission (EC). On the bigger picture, 4 points. 1. EC had no option but to respect the legislation, but regrettable that that specifies that all constituencies must be in range of 3–5 seats. Academic consensus is that average district magnitude of five seats needed to deliver proportional outcomes. 3-seaters should be consigned to the history books, not compatible with principles underpinning proportional representation. Hope that legislation before ..read more
Visit website
Book launch: A People Under Siege: The Unionists of Northern Ireland, From Partition to Brexit and Beyond by Aaron Edwards
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
9M ago
Professor Arthur Aughey and author Dr. Aaron Edwards at the book launch The launch of A People Under Siege: The Unionists of Northern Ireland, From Partition to Brexit and Beyond took place at No Alibis Bookstore in Belfast on 15 June 2023. Remarks were made by the Publisher at Merrion Press, Conor Graham, who said that the author’s books make ‘a significant contribution to the history of this place’. Professor Arthur Aughey, Emeritus Professor of Politics at Ulster University, launched the book, saying that A People Under Siege resonated with a very distinctive auth ..read more
Visit website
Living Amidst Conflict and Insecurity Workshop, University of Galway
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
11M ago
By Dr. Sarah Jenkins (University of Galway) Yuliang Lu (UCD), Marianna Espinos Blasco (UCD) and Caitríona Dowd (DCU) engage in a panel on gender, race, and sexualities in peace and conflict chaired by Niall Ó Dochartaigh (University of Galway). Dr Sarah Jenkins (University of Galway) welcomes participants The School of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Galway marked the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace (16th May) with a workshop on the theme of Living Amidst Conflict and Insecurity on Thursday 18th May. Organised by Dr Sarah Jenkins and Professor Niall Ó Do ..read more
Visit website
Book launch: Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection in EU Law. A Law, Policy and Technology Analysis by Dr. Maria Grazia Porcedda (TCD)
Irish Politics Forum
by conorlittle
11M ago
The launch of Cybersecurity, Privacy and Data Protection in EU Law. A Law, Policy and Technology Analysis by Dr. Maria Grazia Porcedda and published by Hart Publishing, an imprint of Bloomsbury, took place at the Senior Common Room of Trinity College Dublin on April 19th 2023. The book launch was supported by the PSAI’s Book Launch fund. The launch began with an address by TJ McIntyre, Associate Professor in the Sutherland School of Law at University College Dublin and Chairperson of the advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland and by Dave Lewis, Associate Professor in the School of Computer Scie ..read more
Visit website

Follow Irish Politics Forum on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR