The Oireachtas, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas, a house of representatives called Dáil Éireann and a senate called Seanad Éireann.
Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland are only possible by way of referendum. A proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland must be initiated as a bill in Dáil Éireann, be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum, and finally signed into law by the president of Ireland. Since the constitution entered into force on 29 December 1937, there have been 32 amendments to the constitution.
An ordinary referendum in Ireland is a referendum on a bill other than a bill to amend the Constitution. The Constitution prescribes the process in Articles 27 and 47. Whereas a constitutional referendum is mandatory for a constitutional amendment bill, an ordinary referendum occurs only if the bill "contains a proposal of such national importance that the will of the people thereon ought to be ascertained". This is decided at the discretion of the President, after a petition by Oireachtas members including a majority of Senators. No such petition has ever been presented, and thus no ordinary referendum has ever been held.
Abortion in Australia is legal. There are no federal abortion laws, and full decriminalisation of the procedure has been enacted in all jurisdictions. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: Surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy in most jurisdictions, and up to 16 weeks in Tasmania. Later-term abortions can be obtained with the approval of two doctors, although the Australian Capital Territory only requires a single physician's approval.
In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government. All elections use proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) in constituencies returning three or more members, except that the presidential election and by-elections use the single-winner analogue of STV, elsewhere called instant-runoff voting or the alternative vote. Members of Seanad Éireann, the second house of the Oireachtas, are partly nominated, partly indirectly elected, and partly elected by graduates of particular universities.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the Republic of Ireland are regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe and the world. Ireland is notable for its transformation from a country holding overwhelmingly conservative attitudes toward LGBTQ issues, in part due to the opposition by the Roman Catholic Church, to one holding overwhelmingly liberal views in the space of a generation. In May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage on a national level by popular vote. The New York Times declared that the result put Ireland at the "vanguard of social change". Since July 2015, transgender people in Ireland can self-declare their gender for the purpose of updating passports, driving licences, obtaining new birth certificates, and getting married. Both male and female expressions of homosexuality were decriminalised in 1993, and most forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation are now outlawed. Ireland also forbids incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation. Article 41 of the Constitution of Ireland explicitly protects the right to marriage irrespective of sex.
Governments sometimes take measures designed to afford legal protection of access to abortion. Such legislation often seeks to guard facilities which provide induced abortion against obstruction, vandalism, picketing, and other actions, or to protect patients and employees of such facilities from threats and harassment.
Rónán Thomas Mullen is an Irish independent senator and former delegate to the Council of Europe. He is the leader of the Human Dignity Alliance, an extra-parliamentary anti-abortion political party formed in 2018. He was elected to the Seanad for the National University constituency in July 2007 and re-elected in 2011, 2016 and 2020. He has topped the poll in every NUI Seanad election from 2011. Mullen is a frequent media commentator on social and political topics. The first National University of Ireland senator appointed to the Council of Europe, he received international coverage for his role in defeating the McCafferty Report which sought to limit the right to conscientious objection for medical staff in the case of abortions.
Three referendums were held in Ireland on 25 November 1992, the same day as the 1992 general election. Each was on a proposed amendment of the Irish constitution relating to the law on abortion. They were enumerated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The proposed Twelfth Amendment was rejected by voters while both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth were approved.
Seanad Éireann is the senate of the Oireachtas, which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann.
Simon Harris is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael since 2024. A TD for the Wicklow constituency since 2011, he served as a minister of state from 2014 to 2016 and as a minister since 2016.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2024. He previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay North constituency from the 2020 general election to 2024, and from 2011 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He served as a Minister of State from 2014 to 2016. He was a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 2016 to 2020.
Regina Doherty is an Irish Fine Gael politician who is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency since the 2024 European Parliament election. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath East constituency from 2011 to 2020. She was the Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad from 2020 to 2024, serving as leader of the Seanad from 2020 to 2022 and Deputy leader of the Seanad from 2022 to 2024. She served as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection from 2017 to 2020 and Government Chief Whip from 2016 to 2017.
John Crown is an Irish consultant oncologist and former politician who served as a Senator for the National University constituency from 2011 to 2016.
Helen McEntee is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice since June 2020 and deputy leader of Fine Gael since October 2024. A Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath East constituency since 2013, she previously served as a minister of state from 2016 to 2020.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 was an Act of the Oireachtas which, until 2018, defined the circumstances and processes within which abortion in Ireland could be legally performed. The act gave effect in statutory law to the terms of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the 1992 judgment in the X Case. That judgment allowed for abortion where pregnancy endangers a woman's life, including through a risk of suicide. The provisions relating to suicide had been the most contentious part of the bill. Having passed both Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2013, it was signed into law on 30 July by Michael D. Higgins, the President of Ireland, and commenced on 1 January 2014. The 2013 Act was repealed by the Health Act 2018, which commenced on 1 January 2019.
Katherine O'Connell is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency from 2016 to 2020. During her time in the Dáil, O'Connell campaigned in favour of abortion rights as well as pushing for more funding for healthcare services in Ireland.
The Citizens' Assembly is a citizens' assembly established in Ireland in 2016 to consider several political questions including the Constitution of Ireland. Questions considered include: abortion, fixed term parliaments, referendums, population ageing, and climate change. Over 18 months a report is produced on each topic. The government is required to respond officially to the reports in the Oireachtas (parliament); as of 9 April 2019 responses have been given on three of the five topics.
The Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which permits the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion. The constitution had previously prohibited abortion, unless there was a serious risk to the life of the mother.
The Health Act 2018 is an Act of the Oireachtas which defines the circumstances and processes within which abortion may be legally performed in Ireland. It permits termination under medical supervision, generally up to 12 weeks' pregnancy, and later if pregnancy poses a serious health risk or there is a fatal foetal abnormality.
