First, it would mean that the silly provisions remain on the statute book until after the referendum – and well after too. There would be no rush to remove them because, even with the Constitutional requirement gone the provisions might not actually be unconstitutional.

Secondly the whole constitution needs secularising. That could be done with one referendum because it is essentially one issue: even though the religious provisions are spread throughout the document. It is a mistake to think that you need a separate referendum question for each clause. Here are my suggestions for the Constitutional amendment required. Unfortunately there are some holes in it as I do not know the Irish language necessary.

Thirdly, what would happen in the event that the amendment fails? It is wrong to think that the Constitution as it now is requires a new offence to be written into statute. It would be perfectly possible to link “blasphemy” to an existing offence. This is my suggestion for a Constitutional Offences law to fill the gap that Mr Ahern and the Attorneys General seem so worried about.