Oireachtas

OPLA: An Oireachtas within the Oireachtas

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Since my last article detailing the manner in which the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisor (OPLA) has been eroding Irish democracy, I have become acquainted with the Dunning Report (Capacity Review of the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisor (OPLA) of the Houses of the Oireachtas) of December 2016. This recommends a very modest expansion … Read more

Unenumerated Constitutional Rights Erode Irish Democracy

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When the Federal Convention of 1878 had completed its work on the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin described its result as, “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it”. Not much later, John Philpot Curran gave a similar warning, now usually summarised as “Vigilance is the price of liberty”. Each was saying that a … Read more