The Third 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. 5 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 change the criteria for
redistribution of
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
for 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 lower house of 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 ...
. 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 changes to the text
The change proposed to change the text of Article 16.2.3º from:
to:
In the information supplied to voters, the subject matter of the referendum was described as follows:
Background
John O'Donovan, a
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 à ...
TD, challenged the Electoral Amendment Act 1959, which had been passed by a
previous Fianna Fáil government, on the basis that there were "grave inequalities" with "no relevant circumstances to justify" them. In ''O'Donovan v. Attorney-General'' (1961), the Supreme Court held that the Act was unconstitutional and suggested that the ratio of representation to population across constituencies should differ by no more than 5%. The court, interpreting the "so far as it is practicable" condition of the Constitution, suggested a 5% variation as the limit without exceptional circumstances.
The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 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, thus allowing a degree of
malapportionment
Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionmen ...
. The intention was to favour rural areas which had been prone to depopulation;
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtà Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
had a support base among the "small farmers" affected by this.
The government introduced the
Fourth Amendment Bill 1968 in parallel, which would have replaced the electoral system for elections to the Dáil 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 ...
with the
first-past-the-post voting
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 ...
system (FPTP) based on single-seat constituencies. A proposed constitutional amendment to introduce FPTP had been proposed by a previous Fianna Fáil government in 1959, and had been 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 ...
by 51.8% to 48.2%. The opposition parties
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 à ...
and
Labour Party described the two bills in 1968 as a combined attempt by Fianna Fáil to rig the electoral system in its favour.
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 ...
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 ...
on 21 February 1968. It passed its Second Reading on 3 April by 72 votes to 59. It passed final stages in the Dáil on 20 June. On 30 July 1968, it passed final stages in the Seanad by 26 votes to 17.
Referendums on both the Third Amendment Bill and the Fourth Amendment Bill were held on 16 October 1968.
Result
The Third Amendment Bill was rejected by 656,803 (60.8%) against to 424,185 (39.2%) in favour; the Fourth Amendment, which would have altered the voting system, was rejected by a similar margin.
See also
*
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...
*
History of the Republic of Ireland
The Irish state came into being in 1919 as the 32 county Irish Republic. In 1922, having seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, it became the Irish Free State. It comprised 32 counties until ...
*
1968 Irish constitutional referendum
*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, it is a largely ceremonial position, with real political power bei ...
References
Sources
*
*
Citations
External links
Full text of the Constitution of Ireland
{{Amendments of the Constitution of Ireland
1968 in Irish law
1968 in Irish politics
1968 referendums
03b
03b
October 1968 events in Europe
Amendment, 03, 1968
Amendment, 03, 1968
Electoral reform referendums