Sixth Amendment of the Constitution (Adoption) Bill, 1978

Polling for the referendum took place on Thursday 5 July 1979 between the hours of 9:00am and 9:00pm. A referendum on university representation in the Seanad took place on the same day. The following statement for the information of voters on the subject matter of the referendum was prescribed in the Referendum (Amendment) Act, 1979:

White Ballot Paper

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution (Adoption) Bill, 1978, proposes that an adoption which is in accordance with laws enacted by the Oireachtas shall not be invalid solely by reason of the fact that the relevant order or authorisation was not made or given by a judge or court but by a person or body designated for the purpose by those laws. The Bill relates to past as well as future adoptions. Its object is to ensure that adoption orders made by an Bord Uchtála (the Adoption Board) will not be in danger of being declared to be invalid because they were not made by a court.

The total number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal was 601,694 and the total number recorded against the proposal was 6,265. As the proposal was duly approved by the people, the Bill was signed by the President on 3 August 1979 and promulgated as a law.