The first meeting of the constitutional convention will take place on Saturday, December 1st, in Dublin Castle.

The chairman of the convention, Tom Arnold, yesterday paid a courtesy visit to Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, The Irish Times reports.  

The Convention is set to look at a range of controversial issues, including proposals to amend the Constitution to allow for same-sex marriage.

Some 66 of the 99 delegates to the Convention will be “citizen members” and they will be chosen by a professional polling company from data contained on the electoral register.

The remaining 33 delegates will comprise politicians from the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly. One representative of each Northern party will sit on the Convention with the Oireachtas representation reflecting party strength.

At the outset, proposals to reduce the President’s term of office from seven to five years, and a proposal to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 will be discussed by the convention.

According to the Programme for Government, the Convention is set to look at proposals to legalise same-sex marriage, removing the clause which refers to women in the home and removing the offence of blasphemy.

It will also examine proposals regarding the Dáil electoral system and letting emigrants vote in presidential elections.

Mr Arnold has been chief executive of Concern Worldwide since October 2001. He has indicated he will step down from his position with the charity during 2013 as the work of the convention grows.

He is a member of The Irish Times trust.