Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

Amendment on Maastricht Treaty

For the Irish Free State constitutional amendment, see Constitution (Amendment No. 11) Act 1929.

Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

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|  | 18 June 1992 (1992-06-18) |

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To permit the state to ratify the Maastricht Treaty

Results

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%

The Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992 (previously bill no. 12 of 1992) is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which 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.

## Overview

[edit]

Posters against the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. Dublin, Ireland (1992).

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.

## Changes to the text

[edit]

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.

## Result

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Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum[1] 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
Results by constituency[1] 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%

## See also

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* Third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (Membership of the European Communities)
* Politics of the Republic of Ireland
* History of the Republic of Ireland
* Constitutional amendment

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Referendum Results 1937–2015" (PDF). Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. 23 August 2016. p. 44\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.

## External links

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* Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992
* Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992
* Referendum Act 1992
* Full text of the Constitution of Ireland

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Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland

Enacted|

* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 26
* 27
* 28
* 29
* 30
* 31
* 33
* 34
* 36
* 37
* 38

Proposed|

* 41

Failed|

* 3 (1958)
* 3 (1968)
* 4 (1968)
* 10 (1986)
* 12 (1992)
* 22 (2001)
* 24 (2001)
* 25 (2002)
* 28 (2005)
* 28 (2008)
* 30 (2011)
* 32 (2013)
* 35 (2015)
* 39 (2024)
* 40 (2024)

See also|

* Adoption in 1937
* "Missing" amendment numbers
* Electoral Commission
* Constitutional Convention
* Citizens' Assembly
* Referendum Commission

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