The Government has announced that the chief executive of the charity Concern Worldwide, Tom Arnold, has been appointed to chair its proposed Constitutional Convention.

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

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, also announced that he expected the first meeting of the convention would take place on either November 24th or December 1st.

In response to a question from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in the Dáil on Wednesday, Mr Kenny said that the date of the first meeting of the Convention was a decision for the chairman and the committee, the Irish Times reports.

Announcing Mr Arnold’s appointment, Mr Kenny said: “Tom’s strong personal commitment to justice and to improving the lives of citizens around the world make him an ideal choice for this task.

“As well as significant experience in public administration, he has an international reputation for his humanitarian work and he also brings a wealth of management experience as CEO of an organisation which spans the globe.”

Mr Arnold, who is chairman of the Irish Times Trust and a director of the Irish Times Ltd, said: “It is a great honour for me to be appointed chairperson of the Convention on the Constitution.

“I will do my best to ensure that every member of the Convention gets an opportunity to contribute to the work of the convention.”

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

The convention will be made up of politicians and ordinary citizens.

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.