Green Party chairman John Gormley has said his party cannot support "the bypassing of the people" in relation to major decisions on EU policy, which he says is envisaged in the Government's proposed wording of the referendum on the EU constitution.
Mr Gormley said yesterday that his party had given to The Irish Times the text of the Government's draft amendments to the Irish Constitution, which were published in this newspaper yesterday.
He said he was disappointed that this text had been discussed in private meetings between the Government and Fine Gael and Labour, "and that no consultation had taken place with other parties on this important issue".
Mr Gormley told the Dáil last week while questioning the Minister of State responsible for European Affairs, Noel Treacy, that he was in possession of this document despite the fact that the Government had declined to consult his party.
He said yesterday that, in effect, the Government was considering a mechanism that would overturn the 1987 Crotty Supreme Court judgment which said anything that changed the scope or character of the EU must be put to the people in a referendum.
"The Green Party has always supported the referendum mechanism going right back to our support for Ray Crotty in his Supreme Court challenge at the time of the Single European Act. The Government is, in effect, attempting to overturn this judgment.
"The Crotty judgment ensured that the Irish people would have a say on the important issue of EU treaties and their effect on the Irish Constitution," he said.
Mr Gormley, who was a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe, said he had drafted a proposal for a new constitution for a Europe-wide referendum on the Constitution. This "had widespread support, but unfortunately was rejected by the Praesidium."
He said the Government proposals seek to "fast-track decision-making in a wide range of areas by allowing the Oireachtas to decide, thereby bypassing the need for future referenda."
He was particularly concerned about the proposal that the Government could sign up to "permanent structured co-operation" in the area of defence.
"As I pointed out last week, the Government has already set a precedent by becoming a member of the new European Defence and Armaments Agency without any vote or even any debate in Dáil Éireann.
"This is an affront to democracy. The Green Party will not agree to give the Government carte blanche in relation to the 'options and discretions' listed in this amendment," Mr Gormley said.
The Green Party would be making a final decision on its attitude to the constitution at the end of June and the Government amendment "would obviously have great bearing on what stance the party would take".
"There are obvious misgivings about the implications for defence and defence spending, inclusion of the Euratom Treaty as a protocol and the enshrinement of neo-liberal values in the Constitution," Mr Gormley said.
Some in his party felt that, notwithstanding these misgivings, the constitutional treaty represented an advance in other areas when compared with the Nice Treaty. "I have no doubt that internal party debate will now intensify in the run up to our June convention," he said.