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Ryano's note: The following is a list of acts which have been enacted to amend the Irish Constitution. Each act will have been passed by the people in a referendum, under the terms of Articles 46 and 47 hereof, but in each case the date attached to the act is the date on which it was signed into law by the President. As you can tell, the rate at which the Constitution is amended has accelerated in recent years, partly due to the necessity of ratifying treaties related to the EU, but also because of the constitutional battles fought over social issues such as abortion and divorce in recent times.
2 September, 1939
First Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1939
Extended to conflicts in
which the State is not a participant
the provision for a state of emergency
to secure the public safety and
preservation of the State in time of
war or armed rebellion.
30 May, 1941
Second Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1941
An omnibus proposal,
covering a range of disparate
Articles, aimed at tidying up the
Constitution in the light of experience
since its enactment.
8 June, 1972
Third Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972
Allowed the State to
become a member of the European
Communities.
5 January, 1973
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972
Reduced the minimum
voting age at Dáil and Presidential
elections and referendums from 21
years to 18 years.
5 January, 1973
Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972
Removed from the
Constitution the special position of
the Catholic Church and the
recognition of other named religious
denominations.
3 August, 1979
Sixth Amendment of the Constitution (Adoption) Act, 1979
Ensured that
adoption orders made by the Adoption
Board could not be declared
invalid because they were not
made by a court.
3 August, 1979
Seventh Amendment of the Constitution (Election of Members of
Seanad Éireann by Institutions of
Higher Education) Act, 1979
Allowed the State to extend the
provisions for the election of
members of Seanad Éireann by
certain universities to other
institutions of higher education in
the State.
7 October, 1983
Eighth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1983
Acknowledged
the right to life of the unborn, with
due regard to the equal right to life
of the mother.
2 August, 1984
Ninth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1984
Extended the right to
vote at Dáil elections to certain
non-Irish nationals.
22 June, 1987
Tenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1987
Allowed the State to
ratify the Single European Act.
16 July, 1992
Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1992
Allowed the State
to ratify the Treaty on European
Union (Maastricht) and to become
a member of that union.
There is no Twelfth Amendment.
On 25 November 1992, three proposals
were put to the people, the
Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth
Amendments. The people rejected
the Twelfth (which dealt with the
right to life of the unborn) and
approved the Thirteenth and
Fourteenth (below).
3 December, 1992
Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1992
Provided that
Article 40.3.3 ° (the right to life of
the unborn) would not limit
freedom to travel between Ireland
and another state.
23 December, 1992
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1992
Provided that
Article 40.3.3 ° (the right to life of
the unborn) would not limit
freedom to obtain or make
available information relating to
services lawfully available in
another state.
17 June, 1996
Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1995
Provided for the
dissolution of marriage in certain
specified circumstances.
12 December, 1996
Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1996
Provided for the
refusal of bail by a court to a
person charged with a serious
offence where it is reasonably
considered necessary to prevent the
commission of a serious offence by
that person.
14 November, 1997
Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1997
Provided that the
confidentiality of discussions at
meetings of the Government would
be respected save only where the
High Court, in certain specified
circumstances, determined that
disclosure should be made.
3 June, 1998
Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1998
Allowed the State
to ratify the Treaty of Amsterdam.
3 June, 1998
Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1998
Allowed the State
to consent to be bound by the
British-Irish Agreement done at
Belfast on 10 April 1998 and provided
that certain further amendments
to the Constitution, notably
to Articles 2 and 3, would come into
effect when that agreement entered
into force.
23 June, 1999
Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution
Act, 1999
Provided constitutional
recognition of the role of
local government and that local
elections are held at least every five
years.
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