Irish Constitutional Convention 2013

Democracy

Deliberative democracy: a Constitutional Convention with two-thirds ordinary citizens

The Constitutional Convention of 2012 was “a major experiment in deliberative democracy in Ireland”. It recommended the referendum of 2015 in which Ireland became the first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote. “This was the first time in Irish history that a referendum was called as a result of a process of deliberation involving ordinary citizens, ... and one of the first times in the world that a deliberative process has resulted in a referendum and certainly the first to have succeeded” (Geary Institute). The Convention was composed of 66 randomly chosen citizens, 33 parliamentarians from across all parties, and an independent chairperson. The idea of a Constitutional Convention was first proposed by Deputy PM Eamon Gilmore to the Labour Party Conference in 2010; it was included in the Labour Manifesto for the 2011 General Election, which also committed to a referendum on same sex marriage; and it was established in 2012 by the government.