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State Institutions in a Reunited Ireland.
Transitioning from a Unitary System to a
Decentralized Federal
System
 The
Eire Athaontaithe proposal for a Reunited Ireland would replace the
existing unitary governments in the Republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland with
an all-Ireland
Federal Parliamentary Republic.
The new entity would include three distinct regions
namely, 1) the Ulster Region
encompassing the nine counties of Ulster, 2) the Munster/Connacht
Region encompassing the eleven counties of Munster and Connacht, and
3) the Leinster Region encompassing the twelve counties of
Leinster.
The
union of Connacht and Munster into a single region would
lend economic equity and political balance to what would be
lacking in a standalone Connacht and to a lesser extent, in
a standalone Munster.
With the exception of state institutions, other essential elements
of a functioning society such as culture, population, sovereignty,
legislation, finance, levers of power, etc., are generally regarded
as inherent attributes, some of which constitute the fabric of the
society and others, the means and methods used to affect public
policy. These would manifest as a matter of course in the proposed
federal system.
State institutions including the judiciary, legislative bodies,
regulatory authorities, civil service, advisory bodies, police
services etc., would be subjected to fit-for-purpose assessments in
order to identify and implement all resource-related, organizational
and personnel changes necessary to function in the proposed
decentralized federal system. As almost all of these institutions
are vital to a functioning democracy, they would by default
transition into the proposed federal system, albeit with the
necessary structural changes.
The transition process would take place after the electorate in an
all-Ireland referendum voted for a reunited Ireland and likewise,
for a new constitution. The first step in the transition process
would be for the United Kingdom to relinquish sovereignty of the six
Irish counties to the Irish nation. The second step would be to hold
elections for national and regional legislators. The newly elected
legislators together with specialized teams of constitutional and
administrative law experts, logistic experts, academic experts,
legislative drafters, civil servants and supporting staff would
shepherd the transition process under the guardianship of a
management team.
During the transition period, which could take up to two years, the
existing body of law, enforcement agencies and the policies and
procedures in both states would remain in effect. By the end of the
transition period all existing laws and regulations would have been
vetted and brought into compliance with the constitution or
rescinded if no longer applicable. All impacted political and public
institutions would have been revamped and or regionalized and made
fully operable so that the delivery of government services would not
be impaired or disrupted. The expectation would be that the
transition from the unitary system to the decentralized federal
system would be seamless.
Ireland's Unitary Governments
Replacing the existing unitary systems with a decentralized federal
system would present the Irish people with a unique opportunity to
start over with a clean slate, particularly in the sphere of human
rights and equal opportunity. These hallmark qualities of just
societies have been sorely lacking in Northern Ireland since its
inception in 1920. Over the same time period, the Republic of
Ireland’s record is checkered at best.
Decentralized federal systems are generally classified as
constitutional democracies in which the constitution reigns supreme
and by design difficult to amend. Therefore, a decentralized federal
government system with a well-constructed constitution and rigid
amendment requirements offer the people more protection against
abuses of government powers by cabals, unbridled power centers, or
aspiring autocrats.
Unitary government systems are generally classified parliamentary
democracies in which the parliament is the supreme national
authority. With that being the case, parliaments can more easily
change laws and if need be, the constitution to suit their agenda.
Seldom are constitution amendments pursued to enhance rights, to the
contrary they are pursued to curtail rights or give governments more
leeway to enact or change laws more to their liking.
Ireland unitary government system is a British creation and the
backbone of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 that gave life to the
Irish Free State, the predecessor to the present-day Republic of
Ireland unitary government.
In the reunited Ireland envisioned in the
Eire Athaontaithe proposal, the
present unitary government,
a legacy of colonialism,
would give way a decentralized federal system.
The Irish Senate (Seanad Eireann )
Another remnant of colonialism is the Irish Senate, the upper house
of the Irish Legislature. First established in 1920 by the
Government of Ireland Act that partitioned Ireland and created two
Home Rule government, one for the southern twenty-six counties and
the second for the northern six counties. The Senate was the upper
house of the Southern Ireland parliament. Its purpose was to emulate
in some fashion the House of Lords in London. It was short lived
being replaced by the senate of the Irish Free State in 1922.
The Irish Free State Senate was abolished in 1936 when it opposed
constitutional changes passed by the parliament (Dail). In
the 1937 Constitution, a
new senate (Seanad
Éireann)
was created. Its function was
similar to its Free State predecessor – it could delay legislation
passed by the Dail but could not stop its eventual passage. Certain
legislation is off limits to the Seanad including financial related
legislation.
The modern-day Seanad Eireann is comprised of sixty members, eleven
of whom are appointed by the prime minister, six of whom are elected
by six state universities and the remaining forty-three by county
and city councilors.
From its inception, the Seanad has been an institution in search of
a purpose. What it became is a glorified social club for political
has-beens, benefactors and friends of the establishment elite.
There would be no provisions in the Eire Athaontaithe proposal for a
Senate (Seanad) as national and regional parliaments would be
unicameral parliaments whose members would be elected by universal
suffrage.
Legislation passed by these parliaments would be reviewed by a
Council of State to ensure compliance with the constitution. Unlike
the Seanad, the Council of State’s sole function would be to ensure
that legislation would be in compliance with the constitution --- it
would have no authority to question the content or merit of the
legislation.
Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organizations
(Quangos)
 By
definition, a quango is an organization
to which a government has delegated power, but is still partly
controlled and/or financed by the government.
Irrespective of whether or not quangos play important roles in
government functions, their presence is
ubiquitous
and seemingly involved in everything to do with the business of
government including drafting policy and coaching bureaucrats in
both Irish states. What they actually do is a mystery to the average
taxpayer who is responsible for the tab, nonetheless they continue
to exist and thrive in the hinterland of bureaucracy.
It’s difficult to pin down how many quangos there are in the
Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. In published reports
in 2006, the Republic of Ireland had more than 800 quangos, 482 at
the national level and 350 at the local level. The number of
individual appointees stood at 5,784
with an annual budget of
€13 billion.
More recent accounts list the number of quangos in the Republic of
Ireland at 514. The number for Northern Ireland is 132 with another
32 quangos operating there under the auspices of the UK. On the
surface it seems that government bureaucrats
are hiring quangos to do the jobs that they themselves were hired to do.
That being the case, it’s a high price to pay for incompetence.
In 2016, the number of employees in the Irish civil service was over
300,000. With that number of employees to choose from, it’s
difficult to understand why legislative committees or government
bureaucrats would need quangos. The only answer that makes sense
would be managerial incompetence or subterfuge for rewarding
political party backers, failed election candidates or friends of
the well-established.
In the reunited Ireland envisioned in the
Eire Athaontaithe proposal, quangos
would be banned and any valid function
they performed would be handled by the government bureaucracy or
the private sector.
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