[2] On 20 April 2000 in Abbeylara, John Carthy, who had bipolar affective disorder, barricaded himself into his residence with a shotgun in a dispute over plans to move to a new house.

[9] The wording the Joint Committee proposed for Article 15 was:[9] In their manifestos for the 2011 general election, both Fine Gael and Labour promised an amendment to overturn the 2002 Abbeylara verdict.

[10] The programme of the coalition they formed after the election committed to holding referendums "on a priority basis" on five subjects, including "the granting of full investigative powers for Oireachtas committees".

[16] The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions was established in July 2011[17] based on Dáil and Seanad resolutions passed the previous month.

[21] The Irish Times commented that coverage of the presidential election limited public debate on the two referendums being held the same day; it stated "Because [the Thirtieth Amendment] proposes to give the Oireachtas far more power than it has ever previously enjoyed, it therefore needs careful consideration by the electorate before it decides".

[21] Collins called the cost of tribunals of inquiry "scandalous" but pointed out that the Nyberg and Cloyne reports were delivered under the pre-existing Commissions of Investigation Act 2004.

[25] In the Irish Independent, Dearbhail McDonald said she would vote no, saying 'it will be up to politicians, vulnerable to swings in public mood and media pressure ... to decide what "balance" of rights witnesses are entitled to'.

[26] She cited the example of Senator Ivor Callely's successful appeal to the High Court to overturn a Seanad vote of censure, suggesting such redress might be unavailable if the referendum were passed.

[26] Minister Brendan Howlin said that advice from the Attorney General is "crystal clear" that the courts will retain judicial review over the way the Oireachtas balances rights.

[31] While Fianna Fáil supported the amendment, its spokesperson on health, Billy Kelleher, intended to vote against it, and former minister Mary O'Rourke described it as "pointless".

Harry McGee in The Irish Times, and Seán Fleming, the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, mentioned the rushed nature of the legislative process.

Holding two referendums and the presidential election simultaneously reduced media time for debate; some underinformed voters adopted a policy of "if you don't know vote no".

[45] In April 2012, The Irish Times reported that an unpublished briefing produced by the Commission for minister Phil Hogan described as "grossly inadequate" the five weeks it had had to fulfil its functions.

[42][43] Joan Burton's regret for a Prime Time debate between Howlin and Michael McDowell was seen by Mary Regan of the Irish Examiner as a veiled critique of her Labour-Party cabinet colleague.

[45] In December, the Minister Howlin appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions to discuss amending its terms of reference in light of the defeat of the referendum.