Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 30th January, 2015.

I, ALAN KELLY, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsections (1) and (8) of section 2 of the Referendum Act 1998 (No. 1 of 1998), hereby order as follows:

1. This order may be cited as the Referendum Commission (Establishment) Order 2015.

2. A Referendum Commission is established to perform the functions conferred on it by the Referendum Act 1998 , as amended by the Referendum Act 2001 , in relation to the proposal for an amendment of the Constitution contained in the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015.

3. The 27th day of January 2015 is appointed to be the day for the purposes of section 2 (5) of the Referendum Act 1998 in respect of the chairperson of the Referendum Commission.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

27 January 2015.

ALAN KELLY,

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

This order establishes a Referendum Commission for the purposes of the Referendum Acts 1998 and 2001 in connection with the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015 and appoints 27 January 2015 as the day on which the position of chairperson of the Commission takes effect.