The prohibition reflected the religious values of the document's Catholic drafters, but was also supported by senior members of the Anglican Church of Ireland.

An Oireachtas Joint Committee on Marital Breakdown was established in 1983, which reported in 1985.

[3] On 14 May of the same year, Minister for Justice Michael Noonan introduced the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1986 on behalf of the Fine Gael–Labour Party government of Garret FitzGerald.

It was opposed by Fianna Fáil, the main opposition party, by the Catholic Church and by conservative groups.

The Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989, enacted three years after the referendum, had been initiated as a private member's bill by Fine Gael backbencher Alan Shatter.