[8] Numerous contemporary and historical cases of child abuse and neglect came to light, including many involving the Catholic Church.

Reports, including that of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and another by Catherine McGuinness, found that state agencies' hesitancy to act was partly from fear that hasty intervention might violate the parental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

There were other controversial constitutional judgments in court cases involving minors: "Baby Ann" was placed for adoption by unmarried parents aged one week and returned to them after two years when they married, despite having bonded with foster parents in the interim; and a man found guilty underage sex, after his defence of mistaken age had been ruled inadmissible under strict liability, had his conviction overturned when the strict-liability provision was ruled unconstitutional.

[12] After the election, the 30th Dáil and 22nd Seanad passed parallel resolutions establishing a joint committee to consider the 2007 bill as the basis for a new amendment proposal.

While a statutory Referendum Commission fulfilled the latter role, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs had published a separate booklet and webpages which were found to be non-neutral.

On 19 November 2012, two women, Joanna Jordan and Nancy Kennelly, brought petitions to the High Court challenging the referendum result, claiming that the unlawful use of public funds by the government had materially affected the outcome.

[24] Jordan's case was heard in April and May 2013, with expert witnesses differing on the interpretation of a Behaviour & Attitudes survey of voters carried out for the Referendum Commission after polling day.

[27] On 18 October 2013, judge Paul McDermott rejected the petition, ruling that Jordan had failed to prove the government's advocacy had "materially affected" the referendum result.

[28][29] McDermott ordered a two-week stay on the delivery of the final referendum certificate, to give Jordan an opportunity to appeal his decision to the Supreme Court.