The government was not obliged to proceed with any amendment proposal, but committed to respond formally to each recommendation and debate it in the Oireachtas.
[5][12] The Secretary was Art O’Leary, previously Director of Committees, Information and Communications of the Oireachtas, who was on secondment to the Department of the Taoiseach.
[8] On 24 October 2012, it was announced that the chairman would be Tom Arnold, an economist who is chief executive of the charity Concern and chair of the trust which runs The Irish Times newspaper.
[20] This was agreed after the polling company, Behaviour and Attitudes, reported that some of those selected were worried about being "bombarded" by lobbyists and pressure groups.
[32] Fine Gael proposed a "Constitution Day" series of referendums and a citizens' assembly on electoral reform.
[39] Noel Whelan wrote in The Irish Times in 2012, "The programme for government did not define what it meant by a constitutional convention, did not detail its likely composition and was silent on what would happen to any recommendations.
[40] In February 2012, the government proposed that the convention would have 100 members, as follows:[2] The plan did not envisage direct participation by social partners or other interest groups,[2] but they would be able to make written submissions.
[48] Three Labour senators (John Kelly, James Heffernan, and Denis Landy) defied the party whip to support the motion.
[52][53] Although in June the Taoiseach envisaged the Convention beginning work in September,[57] he said in October there was a delay because of the difficulty of finding a chairperson.
[5][10] In August 2013, the chairman asked for an extension, which was granted by the government and then retrospectively approved by a resolution on 29 January 2014, extending its term until 31 March 2014.
Tom Arnold summarised the convention's working methods thus:[63] Referendums were held on 8 March 2024 on the proposed Thirty-ninth and Fortieth (Family and Care) Amendments of the Constitution which were rejected.
[91] 50% of delegates voted against and 49% in favour of placing a positive duty on the State to take action to increase women's participation in politics and public life.
These meetings supplement the pre-existing facility to submit online proposals, of which "a couple of thousand" had been received by the time of the announcement.
[95] The Taoiseach apologised and blamed the delay on the time taken by civil servants to analyse the reports prior to their being considered by the cabinet.
[32] Fintan O'Toole in June 2012 compared the convention to the Citizens Union, a reformist political organisation which Tammany Hall did not bother suppressing so long as did not threaten its hegemony.
[100][101] In the debate on the July Dáil resolution, opposition politicians criticised the composition, agenda, and limited power of the proposed Convention.
Some civil society groups complained that they ought to have been directly represented at the convention, instead of being expected to make written submissions and hope for an invitation to address one of its meetings.
[107] Matthew Wall of Swansea University wrote in July 2013 that he was impressed by the convention's operation and the substance of its reports, and hopeful that the government would not simply reject any recommendations it found inconvenient.
"[109] In March 2015, David Farrell commended the level of public engagement with the convention and its efficient use of its small budget, but said its credibility was undermined by the government's dismissive responses.
[110] Fintan O'Toole similarly praised the convention's work, and suggested the government's tepid response would increase public cynicism with politics.
[111] In November 2016, David Van Reybrouck commended the Constitutional Convention and its successor the Citizens' Assembly as models that other European countries could usefully imitate.
[78] In the buildup to 2016 general election, various politicians proposed changes to Irish abortion law, including repeal of the Eighth Amendment.
[113][114] The Fine Gael–independent minority government formed after the 2016 election committed to establishing "a Citizens' Assembly, within six months, and without participation by politicians, and with a mandate to look at a limited number of key issues over an extended time period.