irishpolitics.ie

Approved the current Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann) itself, replacing the 1922 Free State Constitution.

Éamon de Valera's proposal to scrap proportional representation for the British-style first-past-the-post system — narrowly rejected.

A second attempt to abolish PR-STV, alongside a separate proposal on constituency boundary rules — both rejected by a wider margin than 1959.

Approved Ireland's accession to the EEC (now the EU) — one of the largest Yes margins in the state's history.

Reduced the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.

Deleted Article 44's recognition of the Catholic Church's 'special position' and named minority religions, moving toward a more secular constitution.

A technical amendment placing the adoption process on firmer constitutional footing, passed almost unanimously on a low turnout.

Allowed the Oireachtas to extend Seanad university seats beyond Trinity College and the NUI — never fully legislated for since.

Inserted a constitutional ban on abortion, recognising the equal right to life of the unborn — repealed 35 years later in 2018.

Enabled the Oireachtas to extend Dáil voting rights to non-citizens resident in the state, later used for some local and EU elections.

The first attempt to legalise divorce was heavily defeated, nine years before it eventually passed in 1995.

Approved the EEC's Single European Act, deepening the single market.

Approved the treaty that established the European Union and set out the path to the euro.

Sought to narrow the 1992 Supreme Court "X Case" ruling by excluding risk of suicide as a grounds for lawful abortion — rejected.

Guaranteed the right to travel to another country to access abortion, directly responding to the 1992 'X Case'.

Guaranteed the right to distribute and access information about abortion services lawfully available in other countries.

Removed the constitutional ban on divorce by the narrowest margin of any passed referendum — under 10,000 votes nationally.

Allowed judges to refuse bail where there was a real risk the accused would commit a serious offence while awaiting trial.

Allowed courts, tribunals and other bodies to require disclosure of government discussions in defined circumstances.

Approved the EU treaty that expanded EU competences ahead of enlargement.

Gave effect to the Good Friday Agreement, dropping the state's territorial claim over Northern Ireland in favour of an aspiration to unity by consent.

Gave local government explicit constitutional status and guaranteed local elections at least every five years.

Removed all remaining constitutional provision for capital punishment, which had already been abolished in ordinary law since 1990.

Allowed the state to ratify the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court.

The first Nice Treaty referendum was rejected on the lowest turnout of any EU treaty vote — held the same day as two other, successful, referendums.

A second attempt to legislate against abortion on suicide-risk grounds, defeated by under 1 percentage point.

The re-run Nice Treaty referendum passed comfortably on higher turnout, clearing the way for EU enlargement.

Ended automatic citizenship for children born in Ireland to non-citizen parents, ending Ireland's unconditional jus soli citizenship rule.

The Lisbon Treaty was rejected on its first attempt, echoing the 2001 Nice pattern.

Passed comfortably after the government secured legal guarantees on taxation, neutrality and abortion policy.

Allowed judicial pay to be cut in line with other public servants during the financial crisis, without breaching judicial independence.

Would have let Oireachtas committees make findings of fact against named individuals — rejected amid concerns about fair-procedure rights.

Approved the euro-area Fiscal Compact, entrenching EU budget-deficit rules — took the amendment number the failed 2011 Oireachtas-inquiries bill had left free.

Gave children explicit constitutional rights of their own, distinct from their parents', including in adoption and child-protection cases.

Enda Kenny's proposal to abolish the Seanad and move to a single-chamber Oireachtas was narrowly rejected.

Created a new Court of Appeal between the High Court and Supreme Court to relieve a growing appeals backlog.

Made Ireland the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote.

Proposed lowering the minimum age to run for President from 35 to 21 — rejected by the largest margin of any Irish referendum.

Removed the 1983 constitutional abortion ban, paving the way for the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.

Deleted the constitutional reference to blasphemy as an offence, held alongside the 2018 presidential election.

Removed the constitution's fixed minimum separation period for divorce, leaving it to be set by ordinary law.

Would have extended constitutional recognition of "family" beyond marriage to include other "durable relationships" — decisively rejected.

Would have replaced Article 41.2's language about women's duties in the home with a gender-neutral clause on family carers — rejected by an even wider margin than the same day's family referendum.