Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

The Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

Constitution of Ireland

The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...

provided constitutional recognition of local government and required that local government elections occur at least once in every five years. It was effected by the Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 2001, which was approved by referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

on 11 June 1999 and signed into law on the 23 June of the same year.

Changes to the text

Insertion of new Article 28A:

1. The State recognises the role of local government in providing a forum for the democratic representation of local communities, in exercising and performing at local level powers and functions conferred by law and in promoting by its initiatives the interests of such communities.

2. There shall be such directly elected local authorities as may be determined by law and their powers and functions shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, be so determined and shall be exercised and performed in accordance with law.

3. Elections for members of such local authorities shall be held in accordance with law not later than the end of the fifth year after the year in which they were last held.

4. Every citizen who has the right to vote at an election for members of Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

and such other persons as may be determined by law shall have the right to vote at an election for members of such of the local authorities referred to in section 2 of this Article as shall be determined by law.

5. Casual vacancies in the membership of local authorities referred to in section 2 of this Article shall be filled in accordance with law.

Overview

In 1999 local government had been a long-standing feature of Irish political life. However it was not granted explicit recognition in the constitution. Furthermore there was discomfort that, without a constitutionally specified term limit, local elections sometimes occurred less frequently that once in every five years. The Twentieth Amendment was introduced by the Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

–Progressive Democrats

Progressive Democrats

The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...

coalition government of Bertie Ahern

Bertie Ahern

Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....

and was supported by Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

and the Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

(the two major opposition parties). It was submitted to a referendum on the same day as the 1999 European Parliament elections

European Parliament election, 1999 (Ireland)

The 1999 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 1999 European Parliament election. The election was conducted under the single transferable vote.-Results:-Voting details :-See also:...

. The voting went 1,024,850 (77.8%) in favour and 291,965 (22.2%) against. While the change shown above is that made to the English language version of the constitution, constitutionally it is the Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

text that takes precedence.

Result

External links

Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1999 (Full text from IrishStatuteBook.ie)
Full text of the Constitution of Ireland (Accurate up to and including the Twenty-seventh Amendment from Department of the Taoiseach)
The Unabridged Constitution of Ireland (Unofficial variorum edition – accurate up to Twentieth Amendment)

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