Two constitutional referendums were held simultaneously in Ireland on 27 October 2011, each on a proposed amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. The proposed amendments are on judicial salaries pay cuts, and to provide additional powers to

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

committees. They were held on the same day as the 2011 presidential election and a Dáil by-election in Dublin West. An application to prevent both referendums from going ahead was refused by the Supreme Court on 26 October 2011. The

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary R ...

said the information provided to voters in advance of polling in the two constitutional referendums was "tardy and inadequate".Edwards, Elain
"Referendum information 'inadequate' - ICCL"
. ''The Irish Times''. 27 October 2011.

Twenty-ninth Amendment

The Twenty-ninth Amendment is a proposal to remove the ban on reducing judicial salaries. This became contentious in the context of widespread salary cuts during the Irish financial crisis. Under the Constitution a judge's salary may not be reduced during their term of office. This is intended to protect the independence of the judiciary and prevent governments from imposing pay cuts as a reprisal for judgments with which they disagree. The amendment was passed.

Thirtieth Amendment

The Thirtieth Amendment is a proposal to grant full investigative powers to

committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

investigating matters of public interest. The

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

found the Oireachtas did not have an inherent power to conduct inquiries, and that it overstepped its jurisdiction when it set up the Abbeylara inquiry into the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara,

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

, in 2000. The amendment was rejected.

Referendum Commissions

Separate Referendum Commissions were established for the two referendums, on 5 September for the 29th Amendment and on 13 September for the 30th Amendment. The commissions have the same membership, being chaired by retired judge Bryan McMahon, with ex-officio members the clerks of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

and Seanad Éireann, the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The dedicated website, ''www.referendum2011.ie'', was set up by the Referendum Commission.

References

{{Irish elections 2011 in Irish law 2011 referendums 2011 in the Republic of Ireland Ireland 2011 October 2011 events in Europe Constitutional 2011

Twenty-ninth Amendment

Thirtieth Amendment

Referendum Commissions

See also

References