Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has proposed changing the Constitution to allow the Supreme Court decide whether future EU treaties need to be ratified by referendum, as part of a package of measures to address Ireland’s future role in the union.
Mr Kenny said future international treaties should be referred to the Supreme Court when they are agreed to establish which of their provisions need to be put to the people.
He said: “Such a mechanism would ensure that we have greater clarity on the issues in future referendums".
Mr Kenny also proposed the creation of a “constitutional watchdog” to monitor the Government’s role in EU decision-making.
The measures also include an independent audit of the application of existing EU laws, and new powers to allow the Oireachtas to “hold Ministers to account for their decisions in Brussels”.
“The result of the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has created some doubts about Ireland’s commitment to, and relationship with the European project,” Mr Kenny said.
“Such uncertainty is not what the country needs in an era of economic turmoil and increasing competition for mobile investment. However, the rights steps must be taken to address this challenge because failure to do so successfully would plunge the country into a possibly irreversibly worse situation.”
He said the Government’s response to the failure of the electorate to approve the Lisbon Treaty should be “careful and comprehensive”.
“Their failure to engage in any contact with my party, other than negotiating the composition of the Oireachtas sub-committee [on the future of Europe], does not give me confidence that Brian Cowen has learned any lessons from his mistakes during the referendum campaign.
“I am also concerned about the Government’s continued use of negative language about Europe and that this attitude diminishes their capacity to rebuild public support.”
Mr Kenny said “confidence-building” initiatives were necessary to address current public concerns about Europe.
He said any future referendum relating to Ireland’s future in Europe could only be based on a “substantially different proposal” to that put forward in the Lisbon Treaty, rejected in a referendum in June.
He proposed that a commissioner for every member state be retained, that the Government drop its opt-out from cross-border crime measures and that it seek “clear assurances in relation to tax, neutrality and conscription, and abortion”.
Mr Kenny said such clarifications should take the form of decisions, similar in form to those sought by Denmark following that country’s rejection of the Maastricht Treaty.
"Such decisions can be deemed to be legally binding when they are registered with the United Nations as international agreements, and subsequently incorporated into the next EU treaty as protocols,” Mr Kenny said.
On crime, the Fine Gael leader said his party had not supported the opt-out from the parts of the Lisbon Treaty dealing with deeper cooperation in the areas of judicial and home affairs.
“We believe that Ireland should be fully involved in the fight against international crime, especially as there is increasing evidence of this country being used as a route to import illegal drugs into Europe. The results of this new crime threat is there to be seen in the violent gangland conflict in our major cities,” he said.
He said the Government should abandon this opt-out and any further referendum proposal should be based on Ireland “fully participating in this important and valuable aspect of the Lisbon Treaty”.
Fine Gael also proposed the creation of a constitutional office of European Union Citizens’ Officer who would act as an independent advisory officer on all aspects of EU legislation, including its transposition into Irish law.