The referendum is an entrenched and proud principle of Irish public life - so use your vote, writes Elaine Byrne
HAPPY REFERENDUM Day! The possibility of a referendum has been with us since the foundation of the State.
Kevin O'Higgins, the then minister for justice, told the Dáil in 1922 that referendums would be "a stimulus to political thought and the political education of the people". The 31-year-old Laois-Offaly man went so far as to enthusiastically declare: "All that political thought will have a steadying effect upon the country." Indeed.
The instrument of referendums was first provided for in the 1922 Free State constitution, although it was never applied.
The introduction by plebiscite of Bunreacht na hÉireann in 1937 was the first time it was possible for the electorate to amend the Constitution at referendum.
The enactment of the 1937 Constitution accrued the biggest turnout to date in a referendum, with 75.8 per cent of the overall electorate participating. The 1972 referendum to join the European Community amassed 70.9 per cent of the vote, the second highest. The average turnout for all six of the European referendums thus far has been 52 per cent.
To date, seven proposals to amend the Constitution have been rejected, while 21 have been approved by the electorate.
There appears to be something about this time of year. June has proved to be the most popular month for referendums. Nine referendums, including today, have now occurred in the month of the longest day of the year. Of these, two have been rejected. Not just any two, however, but potentially the most controversial in Irish political history with divorce in 1986 and Nice I in 2001. Although November is the second most favoured month for referendums, the government has consistently favoured seeking the consent of the public in the summer.
The 1979 referendum to permit the alteration of university representation in the Seanad provoked the lowest interest among the public, with just 28.5 per cent discharging their responsibility to vote.
Ireland is one of the few countries in the world where the consent of the people is required for each amendment to the Constitution. This entrenched and proud principle of Irish public life is provided for in Article 26 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. This provision has proved to be a formidable check on governments wishing to make changes that may not have broad public support.
The remarkably young minister for justice, Kevin O'Higgins, believed a referendum "keeps contact between the people and their laws, and keeps responsibility and consciousness in the minds of the people that they are the real and ultimate rulers of the country". The findings of last Friday's Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll was a stark reminder for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, the Greens and the Progressive Democrats, if one was needed, that this was the case.
The opinion poll was the defining moment of the Lisbon campaign. The No camp drew confidence from the results. The Yes side took stock of their collective mistakes and jettisoned their complacency.
At the referendum count tomorrow there may be whispers of "St Anthony, St Anthony, please come around; something is lost that cannot be found." So goes the prayer to St Anthony when we cannot find what we are looking for. The feast day of this Lisbon-born saint, patron saint of lost things, is also on this day, June 13th.
Will he find a changed political landscape? Has he unearthed political issues that have yet to be sufficiently addressed? Are there underlying challenges to public trust that he has now revealed?
One thing he'd find is a fresh tone in the language of recent political discourse. For example, those political parties which represent almost 90 per cent of the electorate at the last election have reintroduced vocabulary into public debate that had been missing in action of late. Words like passion, pride and patriotism. Expressions like "national interest which transcends party boundaries and partisan party politics".
Under the glass roof at the National College of Ireland last Monday, the Taoiseach and the leaders of Fine Gael and the Labour Party stood together and shared these sentiments for 52 minutes and 46 seconds (I timed it because I wanted to see how long it would last).
These are sentiments that my generation of twenty-somethings have not heard before. More of the same, more often, and louder please. We are searching for something in which to believe.
While the rest of Europe will watch their team at the Uefa Euro 2008 soccer championships this week, we find ourselves engrossed in a contest of a very different kind. We will distinguish between how we would like to vote and how we should vote.
Remember to take the time out to vote today. As the new Ireland soccer manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, said when asked if Ireland would qualify for the 2010 World Cup, "Why not?"
And enjoy Referendum Day. We deserve to after all this.