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Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland Bill, 2008
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2008 was a bill introduced by the Government of Ireland in 2008 to amend the Constitution of Ireland in order to enable ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon (also known as the Reform Treaty) of the European Union, so it could be enacted as scheduled on 1 January 2009. As part of the enactment of the bill, a referendum was held on 12 June 2008.[1] The proposal was defeated by 53.4% of votes to 46.6%, with a turn out of 53.1%.[2] 
Result and turnout for the referendum
BackgroundA 1987 decision of the Supreme Court established that ratification by Ireland of any significant amendment to the Treaties of the European Union requires an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland.[3] All Constitutional amendments require approval by referendum. A referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe of the European Union was expected to be held in 2005 or 2006 but was cancelled following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in France in May 2005 and in the Netherlands in June 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon represents the European-wide political compromise that was agreed upon in the wake of the rejection of the Constitution. It preserves most of the content of the Constitution, especially the new rules on the functioning of the European Institutions , but gives up any symbolic or terminologic reference to a Constitution. (See Treaty of Lisbon compared to the European Constitution). Ireland is the only EU member state that has held a public referendum on the Treaty. Ratification of the Treaty in all other member states is decided upon by the states' national parliaments. The referendum is part of the larger EU ratification of the Treaty, which requires that all EU members, and the European Parliament must ratify it. A "No" vote in the referendum could block the treaty in the EU altogether. However, the Treaty of Nice was ratified by Ireland in 2002 in a second referendum after the first vote rejected it by a narrow margin in 2001. Passage of the billThe treaty was signed on 13 December 2007 in Lisbon. On 26 February 2008, the Government of Ireland approved the text of the changes to the constitution.[4] The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2008 was published on 6 March.[5] The bill allows for the ratification of the treaty and also retains the prohibition on Irish participation in an EU common defence agreement. It also allows for Ireland (like the United Kingdom) to opt out from the change from unanimous decisions to qualified majority voting in the sector of police and judicial affairs; this decision will be reviewed three years after the treaty enters into force (if referendum allows). Both states will be able to opt-in on these voting issues on a case-by-case basis. In Dáil Éireann, the bill passed the First Stage on 2 April 2008, the Second Stage on 23 April 2008, and the Committee Stage and Report and Final Stages on 29 April 2008;[5] the text of the referendum was also approved on 29 April.[6] The bill was then sent to Seanad Éireann, where it passed the Second Stage and Committee Stage on 1 May 2008, and the Report and Final Stages on 9 May 2008.[5] Proposed changes to the text
Referendum campaign
Posters in Dublin, May 2008 ParticipantsSee also: Irish Times articles on the "No" and "Yes" factions, and the Referendum Commission
EventsThe government parties of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats were in favour of the treaty, but the other government party, the Green Party, was divided on the issue. At a special convention on 19 January 2008, the leadership of the Green Party failed to secure a two-thirds majority required to make support for the referendum official party policy. The result of the vote was 63% in favour. As a result, the Green Party itself did not participate in the referendum debate, although individual members were free to be involved in whatever side they chose; all Green Party members of the Oireachtas supported the Treaty.[7][8] The main opposition parties of Fine Gael[9] and the Labour Party were also in favour. Only one party represented in the Oireachtas, Sinn Féin, was opposed to the treaty, while minor parties opposed to it included the Socialist Party, the Workers' Party and the Socialist Workers Party. The then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned against making Ireland a 'battlefield' for eurosceptics across Europe. The invitation by UCD's Law Society to French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen was seen as an example of this.[10] Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, committed his party to supporting the No campaign saying: ?UKIP members will be encouraged to go to Ireland to help.?[11] The Government sent bilingual booklets written in English and Irish, explaining the Treaty, to all 2.5 million Irish households. However compendiums of the two previous treaties, of which the Lisbon Treaty is intended to be a series of reforms and amendments, remain unavailable in Ireland.[12] Some commentators have argued that the treaty remains essentially incomprehensible in the absence of such a compendium.[12] On 12 March 2008, Libertas, a lobby group started by businessman Declan Ganley launched a campaign called Facts, not politics which advocated a No vote in the referendum.[13] A month later, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel appealed to Irish people to vote Yes in the referendum whilst on a visit to Ireland. The anti-Lisbon Treaty campaign group accused the government and Fine Gael of a U-turn on their previous policy of discouraging foreign leaders from visiting Ireland during the referendum campaign.[14] The European Commissioner for the Internal Market Charlie McCreevy admitted he had not read the Treaty from cover to cover, and said "he would not expect any sane person to do so".[15] At the start of May, the Irish Alliance for Europe launched its campaign for a Yes vote in the referendum this consisted of trade unionists, business people, academics and politicians. Its members include Garret FitzGerald, Ruairi Quinn, Pat Cox and Michael O'Kennedy.[16] The Taoiseach Brian Cowen stated that should any member of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party campaign against the treaty, they would likely be expelled from the party.[17] On 21 May 2008, the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions voted to support a Yes vote in the referendum.[18] Rank and file members of the individual unions were not balloted and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) advised its 45,000 members to vote No. The Irish bishops conference stated the Catholic Church's declaration that the treaty would not weaken Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion, however the conference did not advocate either a Yes or No vote. By the start of June, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party had united in their push for a Yes vote despite earlier divisions.[19] The two largest farming organisations, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA)[20] and the Irish Farmers' Association[21] called for a Yes vote, the latter giving its support after assurances from the Taoiseach Brian Cowen that Ireland would use its veto in Europe if a deal on World Trade reform was unacceptable. Opinion polls
VotingThere are 3,051,278 voters on the electoral register.[32] The vast majority of voting took place on Thursday, 12 June between 07:00 and 22:00. Counting began the following morning at 09:00. Several groups voted before the standard polling day: Some groups were able to cast postal votes before 9 June, namely: members of the Irish Defence Forces serving in United Nations peacekeeping missions; Irish diplomats and their spouses abroad; members of the Garda Síochána; those unable to vote in person due to physical illness or disability; those who would be unable to vote in person due to their employment (including students); and prisoners.[33] On 9 June, several islands off the coast of County Donegal voted: Tory Island, Inisfree, Gola, Inishbofin and Arranmore Island; these islands are all part of the Donegal South West constituency. Around 37% of the 745 eligible voted.[34] Two days later, several islands off the coast of Counties Galway and Mayo voted: the Aran Islands (Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr) and Inishboffin form part of Galway West constituency; while Inishturk, Inishbiggle and Clare Island form part of the Mayo constituency. The Galway islands had 1,169 eligible to vote, while the Mayo islands had 197.[35] ResultVotes were counted separately in each Dáil Éireann constituency. The overall verdict was formally announced by the Referendum Returning Officer in Dublin Castle by accumulating the constituency totals.[2] In totalWith all 43 constituencies declared:[36]
By constituency
Declared results by constituency 13 June 2008
Reasons for rejectionIreland has begun to cast a sceptical[37] eye on the EU and general concerns about how Europe is developing were raised.[38] As of Spring 2007, the Irish citizenry have the second least European identity in the EU, with 59% identifying as exclusively Irish as opposed to wholly/partly European.[39] The integrationist aspects of the Lisbon treaty were therefore also of concern.[40] Few expressed specifically anti-EU statements, but pro-EU sentiments were interpreted[41] or expressed[42] in favour of an idealised/desired EU and expressed concern about its present form or the future direction of the EU post-Lisbon. To keep Ireland's power and identity,[43] voters chose to vote "no". Another factor in Lisbon's failure was Lisbon itself. An impenetrable legal document, it could not be understood without close study,[44] and even the Referendum Commission - the nonpartisan body set up to explain it - could not explain it all.[45] The treaty's lack of clarity meant that interpretations could not be confidently stated to be true or false. Consequently, issues such as abortion,[46] tax,[47] euthanasia,[48] the veto,[49] EU directives,[50] qualified majority voting,[51] Ireland's commissioner,[52] detention of three-year-olds,[53] the death penalty,[54] Euroarmy conscription,[55] gay marriage,[56] immigration,[57] nuclear energy,[58] workers' rights,[59] sovereignty,[60] and neutrality[61] were raised, some of which were spurious[62] or actually dealt with by the Treaty of Nice.[63] The "No" faction could fight on whichever terrain they wished[64] and could give positive reasons for rejecting the treaty, such as the possibility of renegotiation.[65] Conversely, the "Yes" faction could only offer negatives[66] and could only react to the statements of the other side.[67] Lacking a clear identification of specifics, voters chose to vote "No".[68] A poll was published by the Irish Times on 18 June 2008. The question was "Why did you vote no?" and the results[69] are given below.
A Flash Eurobarometer poll of 2,000 random respondents was conducted between 13 to 15 June on behalf of the European Commission by Gallup. Those respondents who voted "no" in the referendum were asked "Please tell me what are the reasons why you voted "no" to the treaty?" and the results[70] are given below.
French Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet blamed "American neoconservatives" for the Irish voter's rejection of the treaty.[71] Consequences of rejectionThe consequences of the rejection remain unclear. The renegotiation of the Treaty by all 26 other EU states is possible, but highly unlikely given the past complexities and the difficulty in opening-up issues once again. It is more likely Ireland will be offered the possibility of another referendum, with clarification of the key issues that concerned the Irish electorate. A further rejection by the Irish electorate could result in Ireland becoming a "semi-detached" member of the EU. A knock-on effect of the Irish referendum is that anti-EU sentiment in the UK has been strengthened by the result, which may have serious consequences for the UK's relationship with the EU, particularly if the Conservative Party achieves power in the next UK election. ReferencesExternal links
Official websites
Unofficial consolidated treaties Media overviews Political party campaigns
Groups
Articles
da:Irlands folkeafstemning om Lissabontraktaten 2008 fr:Référendum constitutionnel irlandais (2008) ko:2008? ???? ???? nl:Iers constitutioneel referendum 2008 no:Irlands folkeavstemning om Lisboa-traktaten 2008 pl:Referendum w Irlandii w 2008 roku pt:Referendo constitucional de 2008 na Irlanda Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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