Irish constitutional referendums, 2011

Two constitutional referendums were held simultaneously in Ireland on 27 October 2011, each on a proposed amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. The proposed amendments are on judicial salaries pay cuts, and to provide additional powers to Oireachtas committees.

They were held on the same day as the 2011 presidential election and a Dáil by-election in Dublin West. An application to prevent both referendums from going ahead was refused by the Supreme Court on 26 October 2011. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the information provided to voters in advance of polling in the two constitutional referendums was "tardy and inadequate".

The Twenty-ninth Amendment is a proposal to remove the ban on reducing judicial salaries. This became contentious in the context of widespread salary cuts during the Irish financial crisis.

Under the Constitution a judge's salary may not be reduced during their term of office. This is intended to protect the independence of the judiciary and prevent governments from imposing pay cuts as a reprisal for judgments with which they disagree.

The amendment was passed.

The Thirtieth Amendment is a proposal to grant full investigative powers to Oireachtas committees investigating matters of public interest.

The Supreme Court of Ireland found the Oireachtas did not have an inherent power to conduct inquiries, and that it overstepped its jurisdiction when it set up the Abbeylara inquiry into the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, County Longford, in 2000.

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