The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 was a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

(no. 6 of 1968) to amend the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

to alter the

electoral system An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...

from

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

by means of the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

(PR-STV) to

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

(FPTP). The proposal was rejected in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

held on 16 October 1968.

Proposed change

The subject matter of the referendum was described as follows:

Background

Elections to

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 ...

, the house of representative in the

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 ...

, are governed by Article 16 of the Constitution. In 1959, the Fianna Fáil government of

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

put the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill to a referendum, which proposed to replace the electoral system of

by means of the

(PR-STV) with

(FPTP). The referendum was defeated by 51.8% to 48.8%, on the same day on which de Valera had won the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. In 1968, the Fianna Fáil government of

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Minister ...

proposed two constitutional amendments on the electoral system for election to Dáil Éireann: the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, which would have allowed for greater divergence in the ratio of population to constituencies, and the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, a second proposal to introduce FPTP voting in single-member constituencies.

Oireachtas debate

The Amendment was proposed in the Dáil by

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

on 21 February 1968. The Amendment was opposed by

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

and the Labour Party. On 3 July, it passed final stages in the Dáil by 66 votes to 56. On 30 July 1968, it passed final stages in the Seanad by 25 votes to 18. Referendums on both the Third Amendment Bill and the Fourth Amendment Bill were held on 16 October 1968.

Result

The Fourth Amendment bill was rejected by 60.8% against to 39.2% in favour; the Third Amendment, on the population ratio in constituencies, was rejected by a similar margin.

References

Sources

* *

Citations

{{Amendments of the Constitution of Ireland 1968 in Irish law 1968 in Irish politics 1968 referendums 04 04a Single transferable vote October 1968 events in Europe Amendment, 04, 1968 Amendment, 04, 1968 Electoral reform referendums