Former President Michael D Higgins has called for a root and branch reform of the presidency.
He says referenda may be required to change articles of the Constitution outlining the president’s role, and that future incumbents need more staff and resources to carry out their prescribed functions.
President of Ireland from 2011 to 2024, the outspoken politician is now a private citizen of Galway city, unencumbered by political conventions which restrain serving presidents from robust commentary of Government policy, or expressing criticism of national and international politics.
Speaking to the Advertiser at his home in Rahoon, the recently retired, two-term president proposed constitutional tweaks which may improve the rules by which the State is run.
Higgins suggests Article 26 of the Constitution needs amendment. This allows the president to refer a bill, passed by the Oireachtas, to the Supreme Court. If judges rule the bill is unconstitutional, then the president may not sign it into law, but if they approve it, it is immune to legal challenge.
“There is a difficulty about Article 26 in that if the president refers [to the supreme court, and it approves a bill] no ordinary citizen can challenge that piece of legislation in the courts. So that is one of the areas that should be reformed,” he said, agreeing that a referendum would be necessary.
This idea has been flagged in academic journals, as the concept of certain legislation having immunity goes against the idea of a living constitution.
The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill (2022 ) was the only legislation President Higgins referred to the Supreme Court under Article 26 of the Constitution, over the course of his terms of office.
Article 28 also needs attention, says Higgins. This part of Bunreacht na hÉireann stipulates how government is formed, how wars and emergencies are declared, and that ‘the Taoiseach shall keep the President generally informed on matters of domestic and international policy’.
Higgins says his opinions are nuanced and not new, and that he made his thoughts known throughout his two terms of office during the governments of Enda Kenny, Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Simon Harris.
“I’m sorry to tell you, I expressed these opinions several years ago, during the presidency. I spoke with [four] taoisigh in Article 28 meetings, and nothing was ever leaked from these meetings, as referred to in Leo Varadkar’s book,” says Higgins, in reference to Speaking My Mind, released by the former taoiseach last autumn.
In his interview in this week’s Advertiser, his first since leaving the Áras, Higgins also expressed criticism of the press during his presidency, and of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which he feels has too much sway over the office of President. He reiterated comments, made during his presidency, that the volume of legislation to be reviewed by a president is onerous.
Higgins vented stinging criticism of British prime ministerial hopeful, Nigel Farage, and of the current Israeli administration’s genocidal policy toward Palestinians.
“I think that the great tragedy, and the terrible consequences of [Enoch Powell], was that he was a brilliant orator. He was a classic scholar as well. He gave a kind of elegance to the pieces of hate he wrote, unlike Farage, who is of no real substance: just a straightforward, anti-migrant figure,” says Higgins. “Farage is no Powell, he just seeks to draw from the same well.”
The Labour Party is hosting a special event in Galway city tomorrow to honour Michael D Higgins and Sabina Higgins, “in recognition of their outstanding public service and lifelong commitment to equality, culture and human rights”.
Read our full interview with Michael D Higgins.
