The Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2001 (bill no. 19 of 2001) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland to allow the state to ratify the Treaty of Nice of the European Union.[1] The proposal was rejected in a referendum held in June 2001, sometimes referred to as the first Nice referendum.[1] The referendum was held on the same day as referendums on the prohibition of the death penalty and on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, both of which were approved.
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To permit the state to ratify the Treaty of Nice | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Nice Treaty was subsequently approved by Irish voters when the Twenty-sixth Amendment was approved in the second Nice referendum, held in 2002.
Background
editThe Treaty of Nice was signed by the member states of the European Union in February 2001, amending the Treaties of the European Union. Under the decision of the Supreme Court in Crotty v. An Taoiseach (1987), an amendment to the Constitution was required before it could be ratified by Ireland. Ireland was the only one of the then 15 EU member states to put the Treaty to the people in a referendum.
Proposed changes to the text
editInsertion of the following subsections in Article 29.4:
7° The State may ratify the Treaty of Nice amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related Acts signed at Nice on the 26th day of February, 2001. 8° The State may exercise the options or discretions provided by or under Articles 1.6, 1.9, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13 and 2.1 of the Treaty referred to in subsection 7° of this section but any such exercise shall be subject to the prior approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Renumbering of subsections 7° and 8° of Article 29.4 as subsections 9° and 10°.
Oireachtas debate
editThe Twenty-fourth Amendment was proposed in Dáil Éireann by Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen on behalf of the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats coalition government led by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.[2] It was supported by opposition parties Fine Gael and the Labour Party, while it was opposed by the Green Party, Sinn Féin and the Socialist Party, as well as Independent TD Tony Gregory.[3] It passed final stages in the Dáil on 2 May, with insufficient opposition to force a roll call vote.[4] It passed final stages in the Seanad on 4 May and proceeded to a referendum on 11 June 2001.[5]
Campaign
editA Referendum Commission was established by Minister for the Environment and Local Government Noel Dempsey.[6] It was chaired by former Chief Justice Thomas Finlay. At the time, its role included setting out the arguments for and against the proposal.[7]
Result
edit| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No
|
529,478 | 53.87 |
| Yes | 453,461 | 46.13 |
| Valid votes | 982,939 | 98.51 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 14,887 | 1.49 |
| Total votes | 997,826 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,867,960 | 34.79 |
| Constituency | Electorate | Turnout (%) | Votes | Proportion of votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |||
| Carlow–Kilkenny | 92,470 | 34.1% | 14,799 | 16,197 | 47.8% | 52.2% |
| Cavan–Monaghan | 85,803 | 34.6% | 14,031 | 15,145 | 48.1% | 51.9% |
| Clare | 76,227 | 30.8% | 11,265 | 11,853 | 48.8% | 51.2% |
| Cork East | 68,707 | 35.6% | 10,490 | 13,613 | 43.6% | 56.4% |
| Cork North-Central | 75,038 | 33.4% | 10,127 | 14,648 | 40.9% | 59.1% |
| Cork North-West | 49,749 | 37.5% | 8,224 | 9,978 | 45.2% | 54.8% |
| Cork South-Central | 90,790 | 37.2% | 15,428 | 17,952 | 46.3% | 53.7% |
| Cork South-West | 50,677 | 37.1% | 8,725 | 9,704 | 47.4% | 52.6% |
| Donegal North-East | 55,035 | 27.6% | 5,953 | 8,980 | 39.9% | 60.1% |
| Donegal South-West | 52,671 | 28.6% | 5,879 | 8,961 | 39.7% | 60.3% |
| Dublin Central | 61,290 | 33.7% | 8,115 | 12,197 | 40.0% | 60.0% |
| Dublin North | 70,321 | 37.8% | 12,635 | 13,695 | 48.0% | 52.0% |
| Dublin North-Central | 64,007 | 43.2% | 11,752 | 15,636 | 43.0% | 57.0% |
| Dublin North-East | 59,877 | 39.8% | 10,291 | 13,338 | 43.6% | 56.4% |
| Dublin North-West | 57,284 | 38.3% | 9,078 | 12,621 | 41.9% | 58.1% |
| Dublin South | 93,038 | 42.6% | 20,369 | 18,894 | 51.9% | 48.1% |
| Dublin South-Central | 65,542 | 39.1% | 11,199 | 14,141 | 44.2% | 55.8% |
| Dublin South-East | 58,820 | 39.7% | 11,327 | 11,650 | 49.3% | 50.7% |
| Dublin South-West | 81,266 | 31.9% | 9,856 | 15,797 | 38.5% | 61.5% |
| Dublin West | 77,760 | 34.4% | 11,708 | 14,856 | 44.1% | 55.9% |
| Dún Laoghaire | 86,549 | 42.8% | 19,654 | 17,030 | 53.6% | 46.4% |
| Galway East | 65,633 | 29.6% | 9,009 | 10,034 | 47.4% | 52.6% |
| Galway West | 83,176 | 29.5% | 10,100 | 13,951 | 42.0% | 58.0% |
| Kerry North | 53,366 | 32.8% | 6,786 | 10,426 | 39.5% | 60.5% |
| Kerry South | 48,992 | 32.1% | 6,924 | 8,486 | 45.0% | 55.0% |
| Kildare North | 59,035 | 34.5% | 9,923 | 10,196 | 49.4% | 50.6% |
| Kildare South | 51,142 | 32.3% | 7,771 | 8,513 | 47.8% | 52.2% |
| Laois–Offaly | 90,987 | 32.2% | 13,950 | 14,736 | 48.7% | 51.3% |
| Limerick East | 80,339 | 34.5% | 12,720 | 14,593 | 46.6% | 53.4% |
| Limerick West | 49,160 | 34.8% | 8,246 | 8,476 | 49.4% | 50.6% |
| Longford–Roscommon | 67,305 | 32.0% | 9,988 | 11,128 | 47.4% | 52.6% |
| Louth | 78,007 | 34.0% | 12,203 | 13,972 | 46.7% | 53.3% |
| Mayo | 90,336 | 30.1% | 11,799 | 14,865 | 44.3% | 55.7% |
| Meath | 101,888 | 32.6% | 15,712 | 17,005 | 48.1% | 51.9% |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 66,748 | 35.2% | 10,303 | 12,671 | 44.9% | 55.1% |
| Tipperary North | 56,278 | 33.9% | 9,260 | 9,472 | 49.5% | 50.5% |
| Tipperary South | 53,463 | 37.0% | 9,410 | 9,965 | 48.6% | 51.4% |
| Waterford | 71,946 | 35.0% | 11,919 | 12,795 | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Westmeath | 51,664 | 31.6% | 7,233 | 8,814 | 45.1% | 54.9% |
| Wexford | 90,507 | 33.4% | 14,461 | 15,220 | 48.8% | 51.2% |
| Wicklow | 85,067 | 38.3% | 14,839 | 17,274 | 46.3% | 53.7% |
| Total | 2,867,960 | 34.8% | 453,461 | 529,478 | 46.1% | 53.9% |
Aftermath
editThe functions of the Referendum Commission were altered by the Referendum Act 2001, so that it would no longer set out arguments on either side of a proposal.[9]
A second referendum was held on the Nice Treaty in October 2002, and the voters approved of the Twenty-sixth Amendment. Because of concerns that the Treaty would affect Irish neutrality, a further subsection was included on that occasion to address these fears.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001". Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
- ^ "Order of Business. - Twenty-Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001: Second Stage". Houses of the Oireachtas. 3 April 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001: Second Stage (Resumed)". Houses of the Oireachtas. 2 May 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001: Committee and Remaining Stages". Houses of the Oireachtas. 3 May 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001: Committee and Remaining Stages". Houses of the Oireachtas. 4 May 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "S.I. No. 158/2001 - Referendum Commission (Establishment) (No. 4) Order, 2001". Irish Statute Book. 17 April 2001. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Referendum Act, 1998". Irish Statute Book. 26 February 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Referendum Results 1937–2015" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 23 August 2016. p. 68. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Referendum Act, 2001". Irish Statute Book. 22 December 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2018.