The Constitutional Convention received a late surge of submissions on the topic of same-sex marriage in the 
three days before the deadline expired.
The Convention has said that over a thousand submissions were made in the final three days before Tuesday’s deadline.
Many of these were from groups and individuals opposed to the idea of legalising same-sex marriage. One of the submissions was made by The Iona Institute. (It can be found here [1]).
The statement said that the submissions would “form an integral part of the deliberative process, as the 100 members of the Convention consider all aspects of the proposal”.
The next meeting of the Constitutional Convention is on April 13th and 14th and will examine proposals to amend the Constitution to allow for same-sex marriage.
The recommendation of the Constitutional Convention will then go to Government who will have to respond within four months by way of a debate in the Oireachtas.
If the Government agrees with a recommendation to amend the constitution, it must include a timeframe for a referendum on the issue.
Mr Tom Arnold, Chairman of the Constitutional Convention, said: “I am pleased that so many people have engaged with the Constitutional Convention on the topic of same sex marriage. The issue of same sex marriage is extremely important for many people across Ireland and as such it is important that the views and opinions of as many citizens as possible are taken into account by the members of the Convention.
The recommendations which are made to Government by the Constitutional Convention could potentially have far reaching effects. I am very pleased with the level of public interest shown to date on this matter and I look forward to a productive meeting on April 13th and 14th.”
The submissions can be viewed online by the general public www.Constitution.ie.