Encyclopedia > Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the Republic of Ireland, provided that the procedure for the election of six members of the Senate by university graduates could be altered by law. It was effected by the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1979 which was approved by referendum on 5 July1979 and signed into law on the 3 August1979 of the same year.
Alterations to Article 18, Section 4 (new text is in bold):
1. The elected members of Seanad Éireann shall be elected as follows:
i. Three shall be elected by the National University of Ireland.
ii. Three shall be elected by the University of Dublin.
iii. Forty-three shall be elected from panels of candidates constituted as hereinafter provided.
2. Provision may be made by law for the election, on a franchise and in the manner to be provided by law, by one or more of the following institutions, namely:
i. the universities mentioned in subsection 1 of this section,
ii. any other institutions of higher education in the State, of so many members of Seanad Éireann as may be fixed by law in substitution for an equal number of the members to be elected pursuant to paragraphs i and ii of the said subsection 1.
A member or members of Seanad Éireann may be elected under this subsection by institutions grouped together or by a single institution.
3. Nothing in this Article shall be invoked to prohibit the dissolution by law of a university mentioned in subsection 1 of this section.
Overview
Prior to the Seventh Amendment it was a constitutional requirement that three members of Seanad Éireann, the Irish Senate, be elected by the National University of Ireland (NUI) and three by the University of Dublin (better known as Trinity College). With the amendment this requirement was changed to merely one that six senators be elected by any institutions of higher education in any manner that might be determined by the Oireachtas (parliament). The amendment also ensured that the mere mention of the NUI and of Trinity College would not prevent either of these universities being dissolved in future. In actual fact, as of 2004, three senators continue to be elected by the graduates of the NUI and three by graduates of Trinity College. Furthermore, while the dissolution of the NUI was actively discussed in the 1970s with a view to legislation following the Seventh Amendment, this never came to pass. It should be noted that while the changes shown above are those made to the English language text of the constitution, constitutionally it is the Irish text that has precedence.
The Seventh amendment was introduced by a Fianna Fáil government. It was submitted to a referendum on the same day as the Sixth Amendment, which dealt with the validity of certain child adoption orders, and was approved on a low turnout by 552,600 (92.4%) votes in favour to 45,484 (7.6%) against.
The SeventhAmendment of the Constitution of Ireland provided that the procedure for the election of six members of the Senate by university graduates could be altered by law.
Prior to the SeventhAmendment it was a constitutional requirement that three members of Seanad Éireann, the Irish Senate, be elected by the National University of Ireland (NUI) and three by the University of Dublin (better known as Trinity College).
With the amendment this requirement was changed to merely one that six senators be elected by any institutions of higher education in any manner that might be determined by the Oireachtas (parliament).
My areas of particular interest are institutions of government, electoral systems, constitutional history and constitutional law–the more obscure the topic the better.
Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland
Legality of the enactment of the Constitution of Ireland
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