Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
extended the right to vote in elections to Dáil Éireann
(the lower house of parliament) to certain non-Irish citizens. It was effected by the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1984, which was approved by referendum
on 14 June 1984 and signed into law on the 2 August of the same year.
citizens resident in the Republic to vote in Dáil elections. This was to reciprocate the Ireland Act 1949
, which had granted Irish citizens resident in the UK the right to vote in elections to the British parliament after the Irish Government had, by leaving the Commonwealth and enacting the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 removed such rights in existing British law from Irish citizens in the UK. The effect of the amendment was to allow the Oireachtas
(parliament) to extend the right to vote at Dáil elections to any non-citizens it chooses by simply passing a law. The law subsequently passed, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1985, granted British citizens the right to vote for the Dáil, and allowed for other EU citizens to be granted the same right if the Minister for Justice declares that reciprocal rights exist for Irish citizens in the respective EU member state. No such declaration has been made as of 2011. The amendment did not affect presidential elections or referendums, for which one must still be an Irish citizen in order to vote. While the changes shown above are those made to the English language version of the constitution, constitutionally it is the Irish
text that has precedence.
The Ninth Amendment was introduced by the Garret FitzGerald
's Fine Gael
–Labour Party
coalition government but was also formally supported by Fianna Fáil
(the major opposition party). When submitted to referendum it was adopted, on a low turnout, by 828,483 (75.4%) votes in favour to 270,250 (24.6%) against.
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...
extended the right to vote in elections to 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...
(the lower house of parliament) to certain non-Irish citizens. It was effected by the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1984, 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 14 June 1984 and signed into law on the 2 August of the same year.
Changes to the text
- Deletion of the entirety of Article 16.1.2:
- Every citizen without distinction of sex who has reached the age of
twenty-one yearseighteen years who is not disqualified by law and complies with the provisions of the law relating to the election of members of Dáil Éireann, shall have the right to vote at an election for members of Dáil Éireann.
- Substitution of new Article 16.1.2:
- i. All citizens, and
- ii. such other persons in the State as may be determined by law, without distinction of sex who have reached the age of eighteen years who are not disqualified by law and comply with the provisions of the law relating to the election of members of Dáil Éireann, shall have the right to vote at an election for members of Dáil Éireann.
- Addition to Article 16.1.3 (added text in bold):
- No law shall be enacted placing any citizen under disability or incapacity for membership of Dáil Éireann on the ground of sex or disqualifying any citizen or any other person from voting at an election for members of Dáil Éireann on that ground.
Overview
A bill, the Electoral Amendment Bill 1983 had sought to give the right to vote for all elections & referenda to British citizens. This bill was referred to the Irish Supreme Court by the Irish President and the court found it to be unconstitutional. The purpose of the Ninth Amendment was to allow UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
citizens resident in the Republic to vote in Dáil elections. This was to reciprocate the Ireland Act 1949
Ireland Act 1949
The Ireland Act 1949 is a British Act of Parliament that was intended to deal with the consequences of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 as passed by the Irish parliament...
, which had granted Irish citizens resident in the UK the right to vote in elections to the British parliament after the Irish Government had, by leaving the Commonwealth and enacting the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 removed such rights in existing British law from Irish citizens in the UK. The effect of the amendment was to allow the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
(parliament) to extend the right to vote at Dáil elections to any non-citizens it chooses by simply passing a law. The law subsequently passed, the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1985, granted British citizens the right to vote for the Dáil, and allowed for other EU citizens to be granted the same right if the Minister for Justice declares that reciprocal rights exist for Irish citizens in the respective EU member state. No such declaration has been made as of 2011. The amendment did not affect presidential elections or referendums, for which one must still be an Irish citizen in order to vote. While the changes shown above are those 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 has precedence.
The Ninth Amendment was introduced by the Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald
Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...
's 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...
–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...
coalition government but was also formally supported by 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...
(the major opposition party). When submitted to referendum it was adopted, on a low turnout, by 828,483 (75.4%) votes in favour to 270,250 (24.6%) against.
Result
See also
- Irish nationality lawIrish nationality lawIrish nationality law is the law of the Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. Irish nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship...
- CitizenshipCitizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
- Politics of the Republic of IrelandPolitics of the Republic of IrelandIreland 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, this is a largely ceremonial position with real political power being vested in the indirectly elected Taoiseach who is...
- History of the Republic of IrelandHistory of the Republic of IrelandThe Irish state originally came into being in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth, having seceded from the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It comprises of 26 of Ireland's 32 counties...
- Constitutional amendmentConstitutional amendmentA constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
External links
- Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1984 (Full text at 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 only up to Twentieth Amendment)