Fixing the Bunreacht

There’s a constitutional amendment scheduled for October, to change our minds about the Lisbon treaty.

This is an ideal opportunity for Dermot Ahern. He feels he must make blasphemy a crime, otherwise the people will go through the ‘costly and unwarranted diversion‘ of a referendum. But now he has an ideal chance to tack on an appropriate amendment.

Just look how much tidier article 40.6 looks once you get rid of the restraints on free expression:


The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights:
i. The right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions.
ii. The right of the citizens to assemble peaceably and without arms.
iii. The right of the citizens to form associations and unions.

Voila! 240 words limiting the freedom of citizens distilled into a positively worded 50 word assertion of human rights, without those annoying terms and conditions.

And while we’re at it, lets rewrite the preamble so it is less like a prayer and more like the introduction to a modern constitution.

And finally, drop all those casual mentions of God peppered throughout the text.

What better legacy for a minister for justice equality and law reform to bequeath to the people?

By Gerard Cunningham

Gerard Cunningham occupies his time working as a journalist, writer, sub-editor, blogger and podcaster, yet still finds himself underemployed.