The one thing I will say about the Irish political system of having a written constitution and the requirement that it can only be changed by public referendum is that it forces a public debate of what are often arcane legal/institutional issues which can be construed in many different ways by "experts" and which results in a level of public awareness, education, and engagement which a purely parliamentary (and elite professional) process never engenders.

The proverbial taxi driver can probably give you a view on the significance of Hollande's election and the need to write down Anglo Irish promissory notes... Sometimes the process by which a decision is arrived at is almost more important than the decision itself.

Index of Frank's Diaries