IN ONGOING POSTS about his aspirations to run for president, Conor McGregor has promised to hold referendums to change the Irish Constitution, despite this not being a power that presidents in Ireland have.

The former MMA fighter has repeatedly suggested on social media that, if elected, he would use the office to give voters sweeping authority over issues such as immigration and housing.

But constitutional experts are clear: the president cannot initiate, call, or run a referendum. That power rests solely with parliament.

McGregor has long claimed he is running for president in this year’s Áras election, despite not being on the ballot.

To become a candidate, a person must be nominated by either 20 members of the Dáil and Seanad, or four local authorities.

There is little indication that McGregor, who has a criminal history and who a civil jury found liable for rape, can garner this level of support.

Nevertheless, McGregor insists he will be on the ballot and has launched a petition to change the constitution to allow him to run.

His celebrity platform ensures his posts receive huge numbers of views, and he risks misinforming the public about how the constitution and the presidency of Ireland works.

“We are led to believe the powers of the President are limited,” a 27 August Facebook post by McGregor begins.

“I will use the powers of the Presidency under articles twelve to fourteen of the Irish constitution to return power to its people by calling a referendum to amend our current constitution.”

Articles 12 to 14 of the constitution outline how the presidency of Ireland works, as well as its powers. Referendums are not mentioned once in those articles.

After writing at length about unenacted parts of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State (which was replaced with the current constitution in 1937, following a referendum), McGregor says: “As President, I will hold a public referendum to restore these articles to our Constitution.

“This would return important democratic powers once taken away by the political parties of this current government back to the people of Ireland.

“My first action as President will be to establish a mechanism that allows the Irish people to veto government decisions that have a negative impact on their lives.”

However, experts who spoke with The Journal said that this was simply not a power that Irish Presidents have.

“The Irish President has only very limited power, which is exercisable only in a very small number of contexts,” Professor Laura Cahillane at University of Limerick’s School of Law told The Journal. “He does not have the power to ‘hold a public referendum’.”

The rules around holding referendums are explicit in the constitution, and a cursory reading of the text shows they cannot be initiated by presidents.

“The mechanism for amending the Irish Constitution is set out in clear terms in Articles 46 and 47 of the Constitution,” explained Dr. Tom Hickey, Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at DCU’s School of Law and Government.

“Any proposal to amend the Constitution ‘is to be initiated in Dáil Éireann as a Bill,’ as per the terms of Article 46.2.

“If it is passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, then it is ‘submitted by Referendum to the decision of the People’.”

While McGregor’s promises are unlikely to see him pass the nomination stage, they may still have an effect on the election, by eroding the public’s understanding of what the president’s role is and what they can do.

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