 | It has been suggested that this article be
merged with
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 to
1968 Irish constitutional referendums. (
Discuss) Proposed since February 2024. |
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To change the criteria for redistribution of constituencies for Dáil elections | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 was a bill (no. 5 of 1968) to amend the Constitution of Ireland to change the criteria for redistribution of constituencies for elections to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas. It was one of two referendums on the elections held on 16 October 1968, the other being a proposal to alter the voting system. Both bills were rejected.
Background
John O'Donovan, a former Fine Gael TD, challenged the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1959, which had been proposed by a previous Fianna Fáil government, on the basis that there were "grave inequalities" with "no relevant circumstances to justify" them. [1] In O'Donovan v. Attorney-General (1961), Gardner Budd held for the High Court that the Act was unconstitutional. The court, interpreting the "so far as it is practicable" condition of the Constitution, suggested a 5% variation as the limit without exceptional circumstances. [2]
The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 proposed to specify more precisely the system of apportionment in the drawing of constituency boundaries. It would have permitted a disparity in the ratio between population and TDs across the country, thus allowing a degree of malapportionment. The intention was to favour rural areas which had been prone to depopulation; Fianna Fáil had a support base among the "small farmers" affected by this.
The government introduced the Fourth Amendment Bill 1968 in parallel, which would have replaced the electoral system for elections to the Dáil from proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) with the first-past-the-post voting system (FPTP) based on single-seat constituencies. A proposed constitutional amendment to introduce FPTP had been proposed by a previous Fianna Fáil government in 1959, and had been rejected in a referendum by 51.8% to 48.2%. The opposition parties Fine Gael and Labour Party described the two bills in 1968 as a combined attempt by Fianna Fáil to rig the electoral system in its favour.
Oireachtas debate
The Amendment was proposed in the Dáil by Taoiseach Jack Lynch on 21 February 1968. [3] It passed its Second Reading on 3 April by 72 votes to 59. [4] It passed final stages in the Dáil on 20 June. [5] On 30 July 1968, it passed final stages in the Seanad by 26 votes to 17. [6] Referendums on both the Third Amendment Bill and the Fourth Amendment Bill were held on 16 October 1968.
Proposed changes to the text
The change proposed to change the text of Article 16.2.3° from: [7]
The ratio between the number of members to be elected at any time for each constituency and the population of each constituency, as ascertained at the last preceding census, shall, so far as it is practicable, be the same throughout the country.
to: [8]
A determination of constituencies shall be so effected that if with respect to each of the constituencies, the number of members to be elected for it is divided into its population (as ascertained at the census immediately preceding the determination) none of the quotients shall be greater, or less, than the average obtained by dividing the total population, as ascertained at the immediately preceding census, by the total number of members of Dáil Éireann by more than one-sixth of that average.A determination of constituencies shall not be effected during a period beginning on the date of a census and ending on the date of the publication of the relevant results (not being provisional results) thereof, and, if the latest time for effecting such a determination falls during such a period and the determination is not effected before the period begins, it shall, notwithstanding anything in this Article, be effected as soon as may be after the period ends.
Subject to the foregoing requirement of this sub-section, regard shall be had at a determination of constituencies to the extent and accessibility of constituencies and the need for securing convenient areas of representation and, subject to those considerations, to the desirability of avoiding the overlapping by constituencies of the boundaries of Administrative Counties (other than boundaries between those Counties and County Boroughs).
Voter information
In the information supplied to voters, the subject matter of the referendum was described as follows: [9]
The Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968, proposes – that in forming Dáil constituencies, the population per deputy in any case may not be greater or less than the national average by more than one-sixth and that regard must be had to the extent and accessibility of constituencies, the need for having convenient areas of representation and the desirability of avoiding the over-lapping of county boundaries.
Result
The Third Amendment Bill was rejected by a margin of 656,803 (60.8%) to 424,185 (39.2%); the Fourth Amendment, which would have altered the voting system, was rejected by a similar margin.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No
|
656,803 | 60.76 |
| Yes | 424,185 | 39.24 |
| Valid votes | 1,080,988 | 95.71 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 48,489 | 4.29 |
| Total votes | 1,129,477 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,717,389 | 65.77 |
| Constituency | Electorate | Turnout (%) | Votes | Proportion of votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |||
| Carlow–Kilkenny | 58,039 | 71.4% | 15,552 | 23,397 | 39.9% | 60.1% |
| Cavan | 33,996 | 70.8% | 9,706 | 13,225 | 42.3% | 57.7% |
| Clare | 48,008 | 62.7% | 14,323 | 13,996 | 50.6% | 49.4% |
| Cork Borough | 59,607 | 66.2% | 14,954 | 23,229 | 39.2% | 60.8% |
| Cork Mid | 51,423 | 72.2% | 14,446 | 21,326 | 40.4% | 59.6% |
| Cork North-East | 59,515 | 70.9% | 16,789 | 23,649 | 41.5% | 58.5% |
| Cork South-West | 34,625 | 69.9% | 8,823 | 14,121 | 38.5% | 61.5% |
| Donegal North-East | 34,698 | 66.6% | 11,440 | 10,658 | 51.8% | 48.2% |
| Donegal South-West | 35,596 | 62.2% | 10,744 | 10,340 | 51.0% | 49.0% |
| Dublin County | 77,837 | 63.4% | 15,755 | 32,073 | 32.9% | 67.1% |
| Dublin North-Central | 37,771 | 57.9% | 5,804 | 15,353 | 27.4% | 72.6% |
| Dublin North-East | 80,453 | 65.9% | 15,888 | 36,150 | 30.5% | 69.5% |
| Dublin North-West | 41,984 | 61.0% | 7,429 | 17,656 | 29.6% | 70.4% |
| Dublin South-Central | 52,371 | 57.6% | 8,407 | 20,696 | 28.9% | 71.1% |
| Dublin South-East | 41,190 | 63.9% | 7,557 | 18,240 | 29.3% | 70.7% |
| Dublin South-West | 57,590 | 59.6% | 9,726 | 23,633 | 29.2% | 70.8% |
| Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown | 62,723 | 63.4% | 11,677 | 27,349 | 29.9% | 70.1% |
| Galway East | 53,105 | 62.6% | 14,716 | 16,643 | 46.9% | 53.1% |
| Galway West | 33,722 | 52.7% | 8,652 | 8,477 | 50.5% | 49.5% |
| Kerry North | 34,785 | 64.1% | 9,264 | 11,880 | 43.8% | 56.2% |
| Kerry South | 35,323 | 66.1% | 10,706 | 11,535 | 48.1% | 51.9% |
| Kildare | 46,099 | 66.9% | 11,607 | 17,906 | 39.3% | 60.7% |
| Laois–Offaly | 55,879 | 66.9% | 14,163 | 21,345 | 39.9% | 60.1% |
| Limerick East | 46,883 | 67.2% | 11,245 | 18,701 | 37.6% | 62.4% |
| Limerick West | 33,546 | 72.4% | 11,253 | 11,905 | 48.6% | 51.4% |
| Longford–Westmeath | 43,795 | 67.8% | 10,714 | 17,309 | 38.2% | 61.8% |
| Louth | 37,781 | 66.9% | 9,738 | 14,495 | 40.2% | 59.8% |
| Mayo North | 30,802 | 53.8% | 7,220 | 8,497 | 45.9% | 54.1% |
| Mayo South | 41,324 | 62.2% | 10,604 | 13,963 | 43.2% | 56.8% |
| Meath | 36,192 | 68.5% | 9,499 | 14,037 | 40.4% | 59.6% |
| Monaghan | 32,580 | 69.8% | 8,744 | 12,862 | 40.5% | 59.5% |
| Roscommon | 42,971 | 69.2% | 11,637 | 16,243 | 41.7% | 58.3% |
| Sligo–Leitrim | 42,362 | 65.8% | 11,101 | 15,000 | 42.5% | 57.5% |
| Tipperary North | 34,076 | 70.9% | 9,606 | 13,179 | 42.2% | 57.8% |
| Tipperary South | 46,045 | 74.0% | 14,803 | 17,534 | 45.8% | 54.2% |
| Waterford | 37,519 | 69.7% | 10,360 | 14,551 | 41.6% | 58.4% |
| Wexford | 48,050 | 69.6% | 11,433 | 20,542 | 35.8% | 64.2% |
| Wicklow | 37,124 | 65.3% | 8,100 | 15,108 | 34.9% | 65.1% |
| Total | 1,717,389 | 65.8% | 424,185 | 656,803 | 39.2% | 60.8% |
References
Sources
-
"Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968 (Bill 5 of 1968)". Oireachtas debates. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- Includes text of bill and Oireachtas debates
Citations
- ^ Coakley, John. "Constituency boundary revision and seat redistribution in the Irish parliamentary tradition" (PDF). Administration. 28 (3). Dublin: Institute of Public Administration: 305–7.[ permanent dead link]
- ^ "O'Donovan v. Attorney General". Irish Reports: 114. 1961.
- ^ "Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968: First Stage". 21 February 1968. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968: Second Stage (Resumed)". 3 April 1968. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968: Report Stage (resumed) and Final Stage". 20 June 1968. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968: Final Stage". 30 July 1968. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book. pp. Article 16.2.3°. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968: Passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas" (PDF). Oireachtas. 30 July 1968. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Referendum (Amendment) Act 1968, s. 1: Constitutional referenda in relation to Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968, and Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968 (Appendix) ( No. 34 of 1968, s. 1). Enacted on 6 August 1968. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
- ^ a b "Referendum Results" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Referendum on the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1968 – Formation of Dáil Constituencies". Referendum Returning Officer. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.