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To permit the state to ratify the Maastricht Treaty | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992 (previously bill no. 12 of 1992) is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland permitted the state to ratify the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty. It was approved by referendum on 18 June 1992 and signed into law on 16 July of the same year.
The Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution was one of a number of amendments that have been made to expressly permit the state to ratify changes to the founding treaties of the European Union (then known as the European Community) (others have been the Tenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-sixth and the Twenty-eighth Amendments). These amendments were all adopted because of the finding of the Supreme Court in Crotty v. An Taoiseach (1987) that major changes to the treaties are unconstitutional unless accompanied by an amendment.
The Eleventh Amendment was introduced by a Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats coalition government and was also supported by opposition parties Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Democratic Left and the Green Party were opposed to it. Some anti-abortion groups also opposed the treaty, arguing that it might lead to legalised abortion in Ireland.
The Eleventh Amendment amended Article 29.4 by the deletion of the highlighted sentence from subsection 3°:
3° The State may become a member of the European Coal and Steel Community (established by Treaty signed at Paris on the 18th day of April, 1951), the European Economic Community (established by Treaty signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957) and the European Atomic Energy Community (established by Treaty signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957). The State may ratify the Single European Act (signed on behalf of the Member States of the Communities at Luxembourg on the 17th day of February, 1986, and at The Hague on the 28th day of February, 1986).No provision of this Constitution invalidates laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State necessitated by the obligations of membership of the Communities, or prevents laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the Communities, or institutions thereof, from having the force of law in the State.
and by the addition of the following subsections:
4° The State may ratify the Treaty on European Union signed at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992, and may become a member of that Union.5° No provision of this Constitution invalidates laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State which are necessitated by the obligations of membership of the European Union or of the Communities, or prevents laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the European Union or by the Communities or by institutions thereof, or by bodies competent under the Treaties establishing the Communities, from having the force of law in the State.
6° The State may ratify the Agreement relating to Community Patents drawn up between the Member States of the Communities and done at Luxembourg on the 15th day of December, 1989.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 1,001,076 | 69.05 |
| No | 448,655 | 30.95 |
| Valid votes | 1,449,731 | 99.49 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 7,488 | 0.51 |
| Total votes | 1,457,219 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,542,840 | 57.31 |
| Constituency | Electorate | Turnout (%) | Votes | Proportion of votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |||
| Carlow–Kilkenny | 81,192 | 59.2% | 34,180 | 13,633 | 71.5% | 28.5% |
| Cavan–Monaghan | 79,004 | 52.7% | 28,916 | 12,382 | 70.1% | 29.9% |
| Clare | 67,558 | 53.9% | 26,984 | 9,264 | 74.5% | 25.5% |
| Cork East | 58,159 | 61.5% | 24,738 | 10,863 | 69.5% | 30.5% |
| Cork North-Central | 64,497 | 57.7% | 24,285 | 12,800 | 65.5% | 34.5% |
| Cork North-West | 42,058 | 62.9% | 18,481 | 7,773 | 70.4% | 29.6% |
| Cork South-Central | 82,853 | 62.9% | 36,653 | 15,218 | 70.7% | 29.3% |
| Cork South-West | 43,753 | 61.0% | 18,689 | 7,846 | 70.5% | 29.5% |
| Donegal North-East | 46,934 | 50.9% | 14,063 | 9,737 | 59.1% | 40.9% |
| Donegal South-West | 48,494 | 48.8% | 13,724 | 9,837 | 58.3% | 41.7% |
| Dublin Central | 63,411 | 56.6% | 21,216 | 14,488 | 59.5% | 40.5% |
| Dublin North | 56,412 | 59.2% | 24,488 | 8,789 | 73.6% | 26.4% |
| Dublin North-Central | 55,376 | 65.3% | 23,526 | 12,524 | 65.3% | 34.7% |
| Dublin North-East | 55,024 | 61.5% | 21,469 | 12,238 | 63.7% | 36.3% |
| Dublin North-West | 47,937 | 57.8% | 15,642 | 11,874 | 56.9% | 43.1% |
| Dublin South | 87,322 | 63.0% | 40,569 | 14,267 | 74.0% | 26.0% |
| Dublin South-Central | 71,052 | 57.8% | 25,718 | 15,140 | 63.0% | 37.0% |
| Dublin South-East | 60,630 | 54.2% | 21,603 | 11,061 | 66.2% | 33.8% |
| Dublin South-West | 69,654 | 54.9% | 24,847 | 13,250 | 65.3% | 34.7% |
| Dublin West | 82,641 | 55.9% | 30,236 | 15,861 | 65.6% | 34.4% |
| Dún Laoghaire | 83,369 | 62.3% | 38,396 | 13,362 | 74.2% | 25.8% |
| Galway East | 43,219 | 53.9% | 17,306 | 5,780 | 75.0% | 25.0% |
| Galway West | 81,292 | 50.7% | 27,669 | 13,340 | 67.5% | 32.5% |
| Kerry North | 48,606 | 52.5% | 16,313 | 9,006 | 64.5% | 35.5% |
| Kerry South | 44,034 | 52.9% | 15,495 | 7,633 | 67.0% | 33.0% |
| Kildare | 85,073 | 55.0% | 34,314 | 12,275 | 73.7% | 26.3% |
| Laois–Offaly | 77,226 | 58.5% | 30,409 | 14,470 | 67.8% | 32.2% |
| Limerick East | 69,025 | 58.5% | 29,059 | 11,134 | 72.3% | 27.7% |
| Limerick West | 44,768 | 57.2% | 18,241 | 7,152 | 71.9% | 28.1% |
| Longford–Westmeath | 64,098 | 56.3% | 26,486 | 9,364 | 73.9% | 26.1% |
| Louth | 65,666 | 58.9% | 26,925 | 11,446 | 70.2% | 29.8% |
| Mayo East | 40,336 | 52.4% | 15,603 | 5,434 | 74.2% | 25.8% |
| Mayo West | 40,654 | 53.0% | 16,076 | 5,424 | 74.8% | 25.2% |
| Meath | 82,133 | 56.1% | 32,608 | 13,204 | 71.2% | 28.8% |
| Roscommon | 40,690 | 59.4% | 17,242 | 6,755 | 71.9% | 28.1% |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 60,675 | 55.3% | 23,826 | 9,461 | 71.6% | 28.4% |
| Tipperary North | 42,633 | 60.0% | 17,052 | 8,343 | 67.2% | 32.8% |
| Tipperary South | 56,705 | 60.2% | 22,810 | 11,148 | 67.2% | 32.8% |
| Waterford | 63,692 | 58.0% | 26,923 | 9,850 | 73.3% | 26.7% |
| Wexford | 75,553 | 57.0% | 30,347 | 12,491 | 70.9% | 29.1% |
| Wicklow | 69,432 | 58.9% | 27,949 | 12,738 | 68.7% | 31.3% |
| Total | 2,542,840 | 57.3% | 1,001,076 | 448,655 | 69.1% | 30.9% |
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The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983 was an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which inserted a subsection recognising "the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn". Abortion had been subject to criminal penalty in Ireland since at least 1861; the amendment ensured that legislation or judicial interpretation would be restricted to allowing abortion in circumstances where the life of a pregnant woman was at risk. It was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on 7 October 1983. In 2018, it was repealed by referendum.
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The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992 is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which specified that the protection of the right to life of the unborn did not limit the right to distribute information about services in foreign countries. It was one of three referendums on abortion held on 25 November 1992. It was approved and signed into law on 23 December of the same year.
The European Communities Act 1972 is an act of the Irish parliament, the Oireachtas, that incorporates the treaties and law of the European Union into the domestic law of Ireland. The Act did not just incorporate the law of the European Communities which existed at the time of its enactment, but incorporates legislative acts of the Community enacted subsequently. The Act also provides that government ministers may adopt statutory instruments (SIs) to implement EU law, and that those SIs are to have effect as if they were acts of parliament.
The Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2001 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland to allow the state to ratify the Treaty of Nice of the European Union. The proposal was rejected in a referendum held in June 2001, sometimes referred to as the first Nice referendum. 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.
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland that was put to a referendum in 2008. The purpose of the proposed amendment was to allow the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union.
The primacy of European Union law is a legal principle establishing precedence of European Union law over conflicting national laws of EU member states.
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2009 is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which permitted the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union. It was approved by referendum on 2 October 2009.
The Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2012 amended the Constitution of Ireland to permit Ireland to ratify the 2012 European Fiscal Compact and to preclude measures taken under the Compact from being held to be inconsistent with the Irish constitution. It was approved by referendum on 31 May 2012, by 60.3% to 39.7%, on a turnout of 50% and was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 27 June 2012.
