Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland

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An amendment may be made to any part of the Constitution of Ireland but only by referendum. An amendment must first be approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum, and finally signed into law by the President.

Aside from constitutional referendums, the constitution also provides for a referendum on an ordinary bill, known as the ordinary referendum, but there has not been one so far.

Procedure

Referendum

The procedure for amending the constitution is specified in Article 46. A proposed amendment must take the form of a bill to amend the constitution originating in Dáil Éireann (lower house of the Oireachtas). It must first be formally approved by both the Dáil and the Senate, though in practice the Senate has only the power to delay an amendment adopted by the Dáil.

Then the amendment must be endorsed by the electorate in a referendum. A simple majority is sufficient to carry an amendment and there is no minimum turnout required for a constitutional referendum to be considered valid. The vote occurs by secret ballot. A proposal to amend the constitution put to a referendum must not contain any other proposal. While United Kingdom citizens resident in the state may vote in a general election, only Irish citizens can participate in a referendum.

After being approved by referendum an amendment must be signed into law by the President. Provided that the correct procedure has been complied with, the President cannot veto an amendment. The dates given for the amendments listed in this article are, unless otherwise stated, the dates on which they were signed into law.

Historical methods

The Constitution has also been amended by two other means. The Constitution provided that, for an initial period of four years, from 1937 to 1941, it could be amended by a simple Act of the Oireachtas without a referendum. The First and Second Amendments were adopted in this way. However, as a safeguard to prevent wholesale changes after it had been approved by the people, the President of Ireland, was given the right to decline to sign a Bill amending the constitution until the amendment had been voted on by the people if he believed that the amendment materially changed the whole Constitution. However, the President in office, Douglas Hyde, did not refer any amendment directly to the people, but instead chose to sign the first two amendments directly into law. The Constitution stated that this power, along with the Oireachtas's power to amend the Constitution without automatic reference to the people, automatically lapsed three years after the entry into office of the first President.

Since the third anniversary of President Hyde's election, in 1941, every amendment has had to follow the pattern of passage through the Oireachtas followed by a public referendum. One partial exception to this, however, involved the changes made to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution in 1999. The Nineteenth Amendment, adopted by referendum in May, 1998, did not itself amend those articles, but rather introduced a temporary special mechanism by which the Government could order their amendment once it was satisfied that certain commitments made by other parties to the Belfast Agreement had been complied with.

List of amendments

Under transitory provisions

• First Amendment (2 September 1939): Extended the definition of "time of war" to include a war in which the state is not a participant. The motive behind this amendment was to allow the Government to exercise emergency powers during the Second World War, in which the state was neutral.
• Second Amendment (30 May 1941): This was an omnibus amendment to a variety of articles aimed at introducing a variety of changes to the document, some significant and others minor, while it was still possible to do so without the need for a referendum.

By referendum

• Third Amendment (8 June 1972): Permitted the state to join the European Communities.
• Fourth Amendment (5 January 1973): Reduced minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
• Fifth Amendment (5 January 1973): Removed reference to "special position" of the Roman Catholic Church and to certain other named denominations.
• Sixth Amendment (3 August 1979): Provided that orders made by the Adoption Board could not be declared unconstitutional because they were not made by a court.
• Seventh Amendment (3 August 1979): Allowed the state to determine by law which institutions of higher education would be entitled to elect members of the Senate.
• Eighth Amendment (7 October 1983): Introduced the constitutional prohibition of abortion.
• Ninth Amendment (2 August 1984): Extended the right to vote to certain non-nationals.
• Tenth Amendment (22 June 1987): Permitted the state to ratify the Single European Act.
• Eleventh Amendment (16 July 1992): Permitted the state to ratify the Maastricht Treaty.
• Thirteenth Amendment (23 December 1992): Specified that the prohibition of abortion would not limit freedom of travel in and out of the state.
• Fourteenth Amendment (23 December 1992): Specified that the prohibition of abortion would not limit the right to distribute information about abortion services in foreign countries.
• Fifteenth Amendment (17 June 1996): Removed the constitutional prohibition of divorce, but retained certain restrictions on its occurrence.
• Sixteenth Amendment (12 December 1996): Allowed a court to refuse someone bail if it suspected a person would commit a serious criminal offence while at liberty.
• Seventeenth Amendment (14 November 1997): Permitted the High Court to order the disclosure of cabinet discussions in certain circumstances.
• Eighteenth Amendment (3 June 1998): Allowed the state to ratify the Amsterdam Treaty.
• Nineteenth Amendment (3 June 1998): Allowed the state to be bound by the Good Friday Agreement and provided for the conditional amendment of Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, which subsequently came into effect when the Good Friday Agreement did.
• Twentieth Amendment (23 June 1999): Provided that local government elections must occur every five years.
• Twenty-first Amendment (27 March 2002): Introduced the constitutional prohibition of the death penalty, and also removed all incidental references to the death penalty from the text.
• Twenty-third Amendment (27 March 2002): Allowed the state to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
• Twenty-sixth Amendment (7 November 2002): Allowed the state to ratify the Nice Treaty.
• Twenty-seventh Amendment (24 June 2004): Restricted the right to Irish citizenship.
• Twenty-eighth Amendment (15 October 2009): Allowed the state to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
• Twenty-ninth Amendment (27 October 2011): Relaxed the prohibition on the reduction of the salaries of Irish judges.
• Thirtieth Amendment (31 May 2012): Allowed the state to ratify the European Fiscal Compact.
• Thirty-first Amendment (10 November 2012): Introduced an article into the constitution on children and their rights.

There is officially no 12th, 22nd, 24th or 25th Amendment. These numbers correspond to bills which were introduced but not enacted. While the number of a failed amendment bill is typically re-used for the next amendment bill to be introduced, this has not always happened.

Failed amendments and missing numbers

Main article: List of failed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland

• Third Amendment Bill (1958): This was a proposal to alter the electoral system for elections to Dáil Éireann from proportional representation under the Single Transferable Vote to the British First Past the Post system. It also proposed to establish an independent commission for the drawing of constituency boundaries on a constitutional basis. It was put to a referendum on 17 June 1959 but was defeated.
• Third Amendment Bill (1968): This proposed to specify more precisely the system of apportionment in the drawing of constituency boundaries. It would have permitted rural constituencies to elect a disproportionate number of TDs (see malapportionment). The proposal was put to a referendum on 16 October 1968 but was rejected.
• Fourth Amendment Bill (1968): This was a second attempt to alter the electoral system by abolishing proportional representation in favour of First Past the Post. It was submitted to a referendum on the same day as the Third Amendment Bill (1968) and was defeated.
• Tenth Amendment Bill (1986): This proposed to remove the constitutional ban on divorce. It was put to a referendum on 26 June 1986 but was defeated. The ban on divorce was eventually lifted by the Fifteenth Amendment in 1996.
• Twelfth Amendment Bill (1992): This proposed to strengthen the constitutional ban on abortion by stating that an abortion could not be procured to protect the health, rather than the life, of the woman, and that risk to the life of the woman from suicide could not be grounds for an abortion. This was put to a referendum on 25 November 1992 but was defeated.
• Twenty-second Amendment Bill (2001): This proposed to establish a body for the investigation of judges and to amend the procedure for the removal of judges. It was not passed by the houses of the Oireachtas.
• Twenty-fourth Amendment Bill (2001): This would have allowed the state to ratify the Treaty of Nice. This was rejected in a referendum on 7 June 2001. Voters reversed this decision when they adopted the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 2002.
• Twenty-fifth Amendment Bill (2002): This was a second attempt to strengthen the constitutional ban on abortion and to prevent risk of suicide being invoked as grounds for an abortion. It was submitted to a referendum on 6 March 2002 but was defeated.
• Twenty-eighth Amendment Bill (2008): This would have allowed the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon. This was rejected in a referendum on 12 June 2008. Voters reversed this decision when they adopted the Twenty-eighth Amendment in 2009.
• Thirtieth Amendment Bill (2011): This would have allowed both Houses of the Oireachtas to conduct full inquiries into any matter of concern. This amendment was rejected in a referendum on the 27th of October, 2011.

List of referendums

The following is a list of every referendum in the state since 1937. The Constitution of Ireland was approved by plebiscite on 1 July 1937 and every subsequent referendum has concerned a constitutional amendment. Dates given are those on which referendums were held.

Table of referendums relating to the Constitution of Ireland

Date	Proposal	Subject	Electorate	Total poll	(%)	For	(%)	Against	(%)
01937-07-011 July 1937	00 !Constitution of Ireland	Enactment	70061775055000000001,775,055	70061346207000000001,346,207	700175800000000000075.8	7005685105000000000685,105	700156500000000000056.5	7005526945000000000526,945	700143500000000000043.5
01959-07-1717 July 1959	03.1 !3rd Amendment Bill, 1958	Voting system	70061678450000000001,678,450	7005979531000000000979,531	700158400000000000058.4	7005453322000000000453,322	700148200000000000048.2	7005486989000000000486,989	700151800000000000051.8
01968-10-1616 October 1968	03.2 !3rd Amendment Bill, 1968	Constituency boundaries	70061717389000000001,717,389	70061129477000000001,129,477	700165800000000000065.8	7005424185000000000424,185	700139200000000000039.2	7005656803000000000656,803	700160800000000000060.8
01968-10-1616 October 1968	04.1 !4th Amendment Bill, 1968	Voting system	70061717389000000001,717,389	70061129606000000001,129,606	700165800000000000065.8	7005423496000000000423,496	700139200000000000039.2	7005657898000000000657,898	700160800000000000060.8
01972-05-1010 May 1972	03.3 !3rd Amendment	European Communities	70061783604000000001,783,604	70061264278000000001,264,278	700170900000000000070.9	70061041890000000001,041,890	700183100999990000083.1	7005211891000000000211,891	700116900999990000016.9
01972-12-077 December 1972	04.2 !4th Amendment	Voting age	70061783604000000001,783,604	7005903439000000000903,439	700150700000000000050.7	7005724836000000000724,836	700184600999990000084.6	7005131514000000000131,514	700115400000000000015.4
01972-12-077 December 1972	05 !5th Amendment	Recognition of religions	70061783604000000001,783,604	7005903659000000000903,659	700150700000000000050.7	7005721003000000000721,003	700184400000000000084.4	7005133430000000000133,430	700115600000000000015.6
01979-07-055 July 1979	06 !6th Amendment	Adoption board	70062179466000000002,179,466	7005623476000000000623,476	700128600000000000028.6	7005601694000000000601,694	700199000000000000099.0	70036265000000000006,265	70001000000000000001.0
01979-07-055 July 1979	07 !7th Amendment	Seanad reform	70062179466000000002,179,466	7005622646000000000622,646	700128600000000000028.6	7005552600000000000552,600	700192400000000000092.4	700445484000000000045,484	70007600000000000007.6
01983-09-077 September 1983	08 !8th Amendment	Prohibition of abortion	70062358651000000002,358,651	70061265994000000001,265,994	700153700000000000053.7	7005841233000000000841,233	700166900000000000066.9	7005416136000000000416,136	700133100000000000033.1
01984-06-1414 June 1984	09 !9th Amendment	Votes for non-citizens	70062399257000000002,399,257	70061138895000000001,138,895	700147500000000000047.5	7005828483000000000828,483	700175400000000000075.4	7005270250000000000270,250	700124600000000000024.6
01986-06-2626 June 1986	10.1 !10th Amendment Bill, 1986	Divorce	70062436836000000002,436,836	70061482644000000001,482,644	700160800000000000060.8	7005538279000000000538,279	700136500000000000036.5	7005935843000000000935,843	700163500000000000063.5
01987-05-2626 May 1987	10.2 !10th Amendment	Single European Act	70062461790000000002,461,790	70061085304000000001,085,304	700144100000000000044.1	7005755423000000000755,423	700169900000000000069.9	7005324977000000000324,977	700130100000000000030.1
01992-06-1818 June 1992	11 !11th Amendment	Maastricht Treaty	70062542841000000002,542,841	70061457219000000001,457,219	700157300000000000057.3	70061001076000000001,001,076	700169100999990000069.1	7005448655000000000448,655	700130900000000000030.9
01992-11-2525 November 1992	12 !12th Amendment Bill, 1992	Abortion restrictions	70062542841000000002,542,841	70061733309000000001,733,309	700168200000000000068.2	7005572177000000000572,177	700134600000000000034.6	70061079297000000001,079,297	700165400000000000065.4
01992-11-2525 November 1992	13 !13th Amendment	Right to travel	70062542841000000002,542,841	70061733821000000001,733,821	700168200000000000068.2	70061035308000000001,035,308	700162400000000000062.4	7005624059000000000624,059	700137600000000000037.6
01992-11-2525 November 1992	14 !14th Amendment	Abortion information	70062542841000000002,542,841	70061732433000000001,732,433	700168100999990000068.1	7005992833000000000992,833	700159900000000000059.9	7005665106000000000665,106	700140100000000000040.1
01995-11-2424 November 1995	15 !15th Amendment	Divorce	70062628834000000002,628,834	70061633942000000001,633,942	700162200000000000062.2	7005818842000000000818,842	700150300000000000050.3	7005809728000000000809,728	700149700000000000049.7
01996-11-2828 November 1996	16 !16th Amendment	Bail	70062659895000000002,659,895	7005777586000000000777,586	700129200000000000029.2	7005579740000000000579,740	700174800000000000074.8	7005194968000000000194,968	700125200000000000025.2
01997-10-3030 October 1997	17 !17th Amendment	Cabinet confidentiality	70062688316000000002,688,316	70061268043000000001,268,043	700147200000000000047.2	7005632777000000000632,777	700152600000000000052.6	7005569175000000000569,175	700147400000000000047.4
01998-05-2222 May 1998	18 !18th Amendment	Amsterdam Treaty	70062747088000000002,747,088	70061543930000000001,543,930	700156200000000000056.2	7005932632000000000932,632	700161700000000000061.7	7005578070000000000578,070	700138300999990000038.3
01998-05-2222 May 1998	19 !19th Amendment	Good Friday Agreement	70062747088000000002,747,088	70061545395000000001,545,395	700156300000000000056.3	70061442583000000001,442,583	700194400000000000094.4	700485728000000000085,728	70005600000000999995.6
01999-06-1111 June 1999	20 !20th Amendment	Local government	70062791415000000002,791,415	70061425881000000001,425,881	700151100000000000051.1	70061024850000000001,024,850	700177800000000000077.8	7005291965000000000291,965	700122200000000000022.2
02001-06-077 June 2001	21 !21st Amendment	Death penalty	70062867960000000002,867,960	7005997885000000000997,885	700134800999990000034.8	7005610455000000000610,455	700162100000000000062.1	7005372950000000000372,950	700137900000000000037.9
02001-06-077 June 2001	23 !23rd Amendment	Rome Statute of the ICC	70062867960000000002,867,960	7005997565000000000997,565	700134800999990000034.8	7005629234000000000629,234	700164200000000000064.2	7005350512000000000350,512	700135800999990000035.8
02001-06-077 June 2001	24 !24th Amendment Bill, 2001	Treaty of Nice	70062867960000000002,867,960	7005997826000000000997,826	700134800999990000034.8	7005453461000000000453,461	700146100000000000046.1	7005529478000000000529,478	700153900000000000053.9
02002-03-066 March 2002	25 !25th Amendment Bill, 2002	Abortion restrictions	70062923918000000002,923,918	70061254175000000001,254,175	700142900000000000042.9	7005618485000000000618,485	700149600000000000049.6	7005629041000000000629,041	700150400000000000050.4
02002-10-1919 October 2002	26 !26th Amendment	Treaty of Nice	70062923918000000002,923,918	70061446588000000001,446,588	700149500000000000049.5	7005906317000000000906,317	700162900000000000062.9	7005534887000000000534,887	700137100000000000037.1
02004-06-1111 June 2004	27 !27th Amendment	Citizenship	70063041688000000003,041,688	70061823434000000001,823,434	700159900000000000059.9	70061427520000000001,427,520	700179200000000000079.2	7005375695000000000375,695	700120800000000000020.8
02008-06-1212 June 2008	28.1 !28th Amendment Bill, 2008	Treaty of Lisbon	70063051278000000003,051,278	70061621037000000001,621,037	700153100000000000053.1	7005752451000000000752,451	700146600000000000046.6	7005862415000000000862,415	700153400000000000053.4
02009-10-022 October 2009	28.2 !28th Amendment	Treaty of Lisbon	70063078032000000003,078,032	70061816098000000001,816,098	700158000000000000058.0	70061214268000000001,214,268	700167100999990000067.1	7005594606000000000594,606	700132900000000000032.9
2011-10-27 !27 October 2011	29 !29th Amendment	Judges' Remuneration	70063191157000000003,191,157	70061785707000000001,785,707	700155900000000000055.9	70061393877000000001,393,877	700179700000000000079.7	7005354134000000000354,134	700120300000000000020.3
2011-10-27 !27 October 2011	30.1 !30th Amendment Bill 2011	Oireachtas Inquiries	70063191157000000003,191,157	70061785208000000001,785,208	700155900000000000055.9	7005812008000000000812,008	700146700000000000046.7	7005928175000000000928,175	700153300000000000053.3
2012-05-31 !31 May 2012	30.2 !30th Amendment	European Fiscal Compact	70063144828000000003,144,828	70061591385000000001,591,385	700150600000000000050.6	7005955091000000000955,091	700160300000000000060.3	7005629088000000000629,088	700139700000000000039.7
2012-11-10 !10 November 2012	31 !31st Amendment Bill 2012	Children	70063183686000000003,183,686	70061066239000000001,066,239	700133500000000000033.5	7005615731000000000615,731	700158000000000000058.0	7005445863000000000445,863	700142000000000000042.0

Note

Major subjects

The European Union

A number of amendments to the Constitution of Ireland have related to the European Union (and its predecessors). Before the state could join the European Communities the Third Amendment was necessary. Membership granted powers to European institutions which the 1937 constitution had vested in the Oireachtas and the Government. It was also possible that many provisions of the constitution might in the future be found to be incompatible with European Union law. For these reasons the Third Amendment introduced a provision expressly permitting the state to join the Communities and stating in broad terms that European law has supremacy over the constitution.

A number of subsequent amendments have been made to expressly permit the state to ratify changes to the treaties of the EU. This is because of a 1987 ruling by the Supreme Court, in the case of Crotty v. An Taoiseach, that major changes to the EU treaties require a constitutional amendment. Referendums have therefore been held on the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, the Amsterdam Treaty and the Treaty of Nice. There has however, been debate among legal scholars as to whether or not each and everyone of these treaties has been sufficiently far reaching as to necessitate a constitutional amendment.

Abortion

The Eighth Amendment introduced the constitutional prohibition on abortion in 1983. Opponents of abortion sought this amendment partly because of fears that the Supreme Court would in the future infer an implicit right to an abortion in the provisions of the constitution. The court had already ruled, in the 1974 case of McGee v. The Attorney General, that reference in Article 41 to the "imprescriptable rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law" of the family conferred upon spouses a broad right to privacy in marital affairs. It was feared that this right might be extended to include the right to an abortion. There was further concern that the Supreme Court might take its lead from developments in judicial review in other nations, such as the controversial ruling of the United States Supreme Court in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade.

It was observed at the time of the adoption of the constitutional prohibition of abortion that its wording was very vague. Since its adoption a number of attempts have been made to modify the constitution in order to clarify the ban's precise implications. In particular there have been two failed attempts (in 1992 and 2002) to strengthen the ban, but two successful attempts to weaken its implications (both in December 1992).

The two failed amendments arose from a ruling of the Supreme Court in March 1992, in the case of the Attorney General v. X (more commonly known as the "X case"), that a woman is entitled to an abortion where there is a risk to her life from suicide. Opponents of abortion feared that this ruling could only be enforced in a way that would lead to a liberal abortion regime of the kind found in many other countries, such as the United Kingdom, but this has not yet come to pass (although the government has yet to legislate for the implications of the 'X' case). The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments guaranteed that the ban on abortion would not compromise the right to obtain information about, or freedom of travel to avail of, abortion services available abroad.

Previous constitutions

Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, the state was governed under two other documents: the Dáil Constitution of the short-lived 1919–1922 Irish Republic and the constitution of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State. Each used different formal procedures for amendment of the text. The Dáil Constitution was enacted by Dáil Éireann (which was at that time a single chamber legislature) as an ordinary act of parliament. As a result it could be amended by simple vote of the legislature.

The Constitution of the Irish Free State originally provided for a process of amendment by means of a referendum. However the constitution could initially be amended by the Free State Oireachtas for eight years. The Oireachtas chose to extend that period, meaning that for the duration of its existence, the Free State constitution could be amended at will by parliament. In theory, it was argued that the constitution could not be amended in a way with conflicted with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 ratified by both the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic. However the Statute of Westminster removed that restriction in the 1930s.

Proposed changes

From 1997 to 2011, an All-Party Oireachtas Committee systematically reviewed the constitution, and in its first ten years published a series of ten progress reports and two pieces of commissioned research. In the 30th Dáil it published a further 5 reports (see Constitutional Reviews)

The agreed programme of the government elected in March 2011 committed to referendums on five subjects "on a priority basis", and to establishing a constitutional convention to consider other issues. The priority issues are:

• abolition of Seanad Éireann,
• granting the Oireachtas the power to conduct inquiries which could make finding of fact about individuals,
• protecting the confidentiality of citizens' communications with their public representatives,
• relaxing the absolute ban on reducing judges' salaries (which became contentious in the context of widespread salary cuts during the 2008–2011 Irish financial crisis), and
• children's rights.

On the 27 October 2011, two referendums were put to the people of Ireland, simultaneous with the 2011 presidential election. The first of these dealt with judges' pay while the latter dealt with Oireachtas inquiries. The judges' pay amendment was passed by an overwhelming majority becoming the Twenty-ninth Amendment, while the Oireachtas enquiries was rejected by a margin of 53.3% against to 46.7% in favour.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin suggested that the rejection of the Oireachtas inquiries amendment called into question the government's plans for further amendments.

In July 2012 Alan Shatter, the Minister for Justice and Equality, announced plans for an amendment relating to the courts system. This would establish specialist courts parallel to the High Court, and possibly alter the framework for referral of bills by the President to the Supreme Court. The plan follows the recommendations of a 2009 working group, while adding further elements.

Constitutional convention

Main article: Constitutional Convention (Ireland)

In March 2011 the newly elected Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced that the Government intended to establish a constitutional convention to consider "comprehensive constitutional reform" and to report on the following issues:

• the Dáil electoral system
• reducing the President's term from seven to five years
• provision for same-sex marriage
• changing a reference to the "role of women in the home" to the "role of parents in the home"
• removing the requirement to criminalise blasphemy
• reducing the voting age
• such other changes as are recommended by the convention

See also

• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Abortion in the Republic of Ireland
• Constitutional amendment
• Referendum Commission

External links

• Official website of the Referendum Returning Officer – Includes an archive of referendum statistics.
• The Unabridged Constitution of Ireland – This is an unofficial variorum edition with amendments alongside the original text. It is only accurate up until the Twentieth Amendment in 1999.
• Irish Legal Information Initiative
• Irish Statute Book online