Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Act 2009 (previously bill no. 49 of 2009) is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which permitted the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union. It was approved by referendum on 2 October 2009 (sometimes known as the second Lisbon referendum).

The amendment was approved by the Irish electorate by 67.1% to 32.9%, on a turnout of 59%. The amendment's enactment followed the failure of a previous attempt which was rejected in the first Lisbon referendum, held in June 2008. The successful referendum in 2009 represented a swing of 20.5% to the "Yes" side, from the result in 2008.

Following the referendum, Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament) gave its approval to the Treaty on 8 October 2009. The President of Ireland Mary McAleese signed the amendment of the constitution into law on 15 October. These formalities having been conducted, the state ratified the treaty by depositing the instrument of ratification with the Italian government on 23 October. The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009.

Background

A 1987 decision of the Supreme Court established that ratification by Ireland of any significant amendment to the Treaties of the European Union requires an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. All constitutional amendments require approval by referendum.

A referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe of the European Union was expected to be held in 2005 or 2006 but was cancelled following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in France in May 2005 and in the Netherlands in June 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon represents the European-wide political compromise that was agreed upon in the wake of the rejection of the Constitution. It preserves most of the content of the Constitution, especially the new rules on the functioning of the European Institutions, but gives up any symbolic reference to a Constitution. (See Treaty of Lisbon compared to the European Constitution.)

First Lisbon referendum

The 'Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008' was a proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland to enable ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon (also known as the Reform Treaty) of the European Union, so it could be enacted as scheduled on 1 January 2009. As part of the enactment of the bill, a referendum was held on 12 June 2008. The proposal was defeated by 53.4% to 46.6%, with a turnout of 53.1%.

Ireland was the only EU member state that held public referendums on the Treaty. Ratification of the Treaty in all other member states is decided upon by the states' national parliaments. The referendum was part of the larger EU ratification of the Treaty, which required that all EU members and the European Parliament must ratify it. A "No" vote in the referendum could have blocked the treaty in the EU altogether. However, the Treaty of Nice was ratified by Ireland in 2002 in a second referendum after the first vote rejected it by a narrow margin in 2001.

EU member states later issued a set of guarantees to the Irish government, indicating that the Lisbon treaty would not effect changes regarding taxation, military activity, or abortion in Ireland, which led to a second referendum.

Changes to the text Before the amendment, the wording of Article 29.4 of the Constitution of Ireland was:

The Twenty-eighth Amendment amended the text of subsection 3° to read:

Subsections 4° to 11° were deleted and the following were inserted as subsections 4° to 9°

Referendum campaign A Referendum Commission was established by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley. It was chaired by High Court judge Frank Clarke. Its role was to prepare one or more statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposal and of the text of the proposal in the amendment bill.

Participants

OrganisationNotable personnelStanceCóirRichard GreeneFianna FáilBrian Cowen, Micheál MartinFine GaelEnda KennyGeneration YesAndrew ByrneGreen PartyJohn GormleyIntel Ireland Jim O'Hara Ireland for Europe Pat Cox Labour PartyEamon GilmoreThe LiberalsNeil NelliganLibertasDeclan GanleyNational PlatformAnthony CoughlanPeace and Neutrality AllianceRoger ColeSocialist Workers PartyRichard Boyd BarrettPeople's MovementPatricia McKennaRyanairMichael O'LearySinn FéinGerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonaldSocialist PartyJoe HigginsEFDNigel FarageWe BelongOlivia BuckleyWomen for EuropeMichelle O'Donnell and Niamh GallagherWorkers' PartyMick Finnegan

Opinion polls

Date of opinion pollConductorCommissioned bySample sizeForAgainstUndecided 27 September 2009 Quantum Research Sunday Independent 1,000 68% 17% 15% 26 September 2009 Red C Sunday Business Post 1,000 55% 27% 18% 25 September 2009 TNS/mrbi Irish Times 1,000 48% 33% 19% 18 September 2009 Millward Brown/Lansdowne ? 1,000 53% 26% 21% 12 September 2009 Quantum Research Sunday Independent 1,000 63% 15% 22% 12 September 2009 Red C Sunday Business Post 1,000 52% 25% 23% 4 September 2009 TNS/mrbi ? 1,000 46% 29% 25% 28 May 2009 TNS/mrbi ? 2,000 54% 28% 18% 13 May 2009 TNS/mrbi ? 2,000 52% 29% 19% 25 April 2009 Quantum Research ? 500 54% 24% 22% 28 January 2009 Red C Sunday Business Post 1,001 58% 28% 14% 23 January 2009 Millward Brown/Lansdowne ? 1,000 58% 29% 12% 20 January 2009 Quantum Research ? 500 55% 37% 8%

Voting There were 3,078,132 voters on the electoral register. With the exception of some outlying islands that went to the polls two days ahead of the rest of the country, official voting took place on Friday, 2 October 2009 between 07:00 and 22:00. Counting began the following morning at 09:00.

Result

+Result by constituency Constituency Electorate Votes Proportion of votes ± Yes 2008 Yes No Yes No Carlow–Kilkenny 104,387 58.0% 42,499 17,755 70.5% 29.5% +20.5% Cavan–Monaghan 95,270 59.1% 34,740 21,301 62.0% 38.0% +16.8% Clare 82,292 56.9% 33,707 12,898 72.3% 27.7% +20.5% Cork East 84,411 57.5% 31,956 16,387 66.1% 33.9% +23.1% Cork North-Central 65,348 59.6% 21,642 17,136 55.8% 44.2% +20.2% Cork North-West 64,759 60.8% 27,249 11,942 69.5% 30.5% +23.4% Cork South-Central 89,655 60.3% 36,040 17,874 66.8% 33.2% +20.2% Cork South-West 58,657 60.6% 23,764 11,615 67.2% 32.8% +22.8% Donegal North-East 56,935 51.4% 14,156 15,005 48.5% 51.5% +13.2% Donegal South-West 60,340 52.3% 15,623 15,794 49.7% 50.3% +13.1% Dublin Central 56,451 53.3% 18,545 11,396 61.9% 38.1% +18.1% Dublin Mid-West 62,651 55.8% 21,435 13,424 61.5% 38.5% +21.9% Dublin North 83,251 61.3% 36,971 13,895 72.7% 27.3% +22.1% Dublin North-Central 50,946 65.6% 23,692 9,624 71.1% 28.9% +20.5% Dublin North-East 52,499 63.4% 21,045 12,117 63.5% 36.5% +20.3% Dublin North-West 49,813 57.6% 15,734 12,850 55.0% 45.0% +18.6% Dublin South 98,225 59.5% 47,549 10,672 81.7% 18.3% +18.8% Dublin South-Central 80,756 55.5% 25,854 18,742 58.0% 42.0% +19.0% Dublin South-East 54,794 54.7% 23,478 6,365 78.7% 21.3% +17.0% Dublin South-West 68,497 57.7% 23,192 16,178 58.9% 41.1% +24.0% Dublin West 52,649 59.5% 21,429 9,852 68.5% 31.5% +20.6% Dún Laoghaire 76,503 74.2% 45,917 10,651 81.2% 18.8% +17.7% Galway East 80,320 56.1% 30,549 14,306 68.1% 31.9% +21.2% Galway West 86,538 54.2% 31,000 15,732 66.3% 33.7% +20.2% Kerry North 55,511 55.6% 19,543 11,193 63.6% 36.4% +23.2% Kerry South 52,023 58.4% 20,092 10,170 66.4% 33.6% +23.8% Kildare North 73,606 57.3% 32,012 10,002 76.2% 23.8% +21.6% Kildare South 56,177 55.3% 21,568 9,373 69.7% 30.3% +21.6% Laois–Offaly 107,303 59.6% 46,624 17,097 73.2% 26.8% +17.2% Limerick East 73,734 61.0% 30,210 14,607 67.4% 32.6% +21.4% Limerick West 58,206 58.1% 23,366 10,343 69.3% 30.7% +24.7% Longford–Westmeath 88,390 53.4% 30,870 16,156 65.6% 34.4% +19.3% Louth 84,360 58.8% 30,116 19,241 61.0% 39.0% +19.1% Mayo 95,466 58.0% 34,056 21,132 61.7% 38.3% +23.4% Meath East 68,869 56.1% 27,822 10,653 72.3% 27.7% +21.4% Meath West 58,585 61.0% 23,103 12,504 64.9% 35.1% +20.4% Roscommon–South Leitrim 59,871 65.0% 25,580 13,194 66.0% 34.0% +20.4% Sligo–North Leitrim 56,286 58.9% 21,295 11,744 64.5% 35.5% +21.2% Tipperary North 48,446 75.9% 25,768 10,846 70.4% 29.6% +20.6% Tipperary South 61,439 54.3% 22,712 10,483 68.4% 31.6% +21.6% Waterford 73,589 61.3% 30,744 14,116 68.5% 31.5% +22.8% Wexford 103,412 58.8% 39,463 21,067 65.2% 34.8% +21.2% Wicklow 86,812 67.9% 41,540 17,174 70.7% 29.3% +20.9% Total 3,078,132 59.0% 1,214,268 594,606 67.1% 32.8% +20.5% The '± Yes 2008' column shows the percentage point change in the Yes vote compared to the first Lisbon referendum which was rejected in a referendum in 2008.

Reaction Taoiseach Brian Cowen said Ireland had taken "a decisive step" by passing the referendum. Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said the No vote across her home county, Donegal, was apparent from around a fortnight previously because of "mixed messages". Fine Gael's leader Enda Kenny described it as "a mature, reflective decision". Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Labour Party, said it was both "sensible" and "necessary". President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said the vote ensured it was "a great day" for both Ireland and Europe. President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek stated that work would now get underway "to overcome the difficulties" that remained.

Declan Ganley, Libertas leader, said the unexpectedly high Yes vote demonstrated "how scared people are" of the state of the economy. This feeling was echoed by a certain proportion of voters, one of whose attitude was "I'm here because I have a vote and, basically, I've been told what to do with it". The Socialist Party's MEP Joe Higgins praised the performance of the No campaign. Sinn Féin's President Gerry Adams asked why the first referendum had been ignored. Sinn Féin Vice-president Mary Lou McDonald criticised the "dishonourable and depressing" Yes campaign. Richard Greene of Cóir promised the war against the Treaty would continue despite the second result, saying Cóir was "extremely disappointed that the voice of the people was not heard the first time around". Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, described the vote as "tarnished since this is a repeated referendum". Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, said the process had been no different from "a corrupt election in Zimbabwe or Afghanistan". Bruce Arnold, a columnist with the Irish Independent, said the damage done to the disenfranchised by the "tainted outcome" of the referendums would "not be easily fixed".

The European Parliament's rapporteur on the Lisbon Treaty, Richard Corbett, who had joined the referendum campaign in Ireland, said that "Eurosceptics don’t mention that the first referendum was decided by a narrow majority on a small turnout, whereas the second referendum approved the treaty by a comfortable majority on a high turnout"

Final formalities Subsequent to the referendum, the following formalities were observed: 6 October The Provisional Referendum Certificate with the full result of the referendum was published in Iris Oifigiúil. 8 October The Dáil passed a motion approving the terms of the Treaty under Article 29.5.2° of the Constitution 13 October No petition to the Provisional Referendum Certificate having been lodged with the High Court, the Certificate became final. 15 October President McAleese signed the amendment act into law 16 October President McAleese signed the instrument of ratification of the Treaty 23 October Dick Roche, Minister of State, deposited the instrument of ratification with the Italian government.

See also Ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon European Commission Representation in Ireland

References

External links

Official websites Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Act 2009 Oireachtas Debates: Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009 Full text of the Constitution of Ireland European Union Act 2009