No Sovereignty, No Point

In yesterday's Irish Times, Fintan O'Toole suggested that with regard to the upcoming referendum on the European fiscal treaty by the Irish people:

The notion of a “sovereign people” exercising that sovereignty in a referendum is a fiction.

Although it may be a particularly grim perspective, it is hard to argue with the premise, given that our rulers as Mr O'Toole calls them do not sit in Dáil Éireann.

Unfortunately, it also adds a sour taste to the recent announcement by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Ireland plans to sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) - a treaty that seeks to promote the highest, and yet most basic standards necessary for people to both enjoy and contribute to a worthwhile and just society.

The Optional Protocol enables individuals to bring complaints based on the treaty before the relevant UN body. However a quick scan of the articles contained within the ICESCR itself quickly gives rise to that sour taste as it is hard to see how, given the current state of the nation, Ireland is able or even willing to take steps towards the achievement of stated goals such as:

- the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
- the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work,
- the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance.

The ICESCR is a document full of vision and hope. Unfortunately in Ireland at the moment, there is a distinct lack of vision among the political class or hope among the people.