Constitution of Ireland - Constitutional Reviews

Constitutional Reviews

The Constitution has been subjected to a series of formal reviews during the last 40 years or so.

1966

The then Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, encouraged the establishment of an informal Oireachtas committee, which undertook a general review of the Constitution and issued a report in 1967.

1968

A draft report was produced by a legal committee, chaired by the Attorney General Colm Condon. No final report was published.

1972

The Inter-Party Committee on the Implications of Irish Unity addressed constitutional issues in relation to Northern Ireland. Its work was continued by the 1973 All-Party Oireachtas Committee on Irish Relations and later by the 1982 Constitution Review Body, a group of legal experts under the chairmanship of the Attorney General. Neither of the 1972 groups published a report.

1983–1984

The New Ireland Forum was established in 1983, and its report in 1984 covered some constitutional issues.

1988

The Progressive Democrats published a review entitled Constitution for a New Republic.

1994–1997

In October 1994, the government established a Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, which considered some constitutional issues relating to Northern Ireland. The Forum suspended its work in February 1996 but met once more in December 1997.

1995–1996

The Constitution Review Group was an expert group established by the government in 1995, and chaired by Dr T.K. Whitaker. Its 700-page report, published in July 1996, has been described as "the most thorough analysis of the Constitution from the legal, political science, administrative, social and economic perspectives ever made".

1996–

The first All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution was set up in 1996.