approved by the Dáil on 16 November 1966. They were appointed by the president on the same day. Parliamentary Secretaries On 16 November 1966, the Government appointed the Parliamentary Secretaries on the nomination of the Taoiseach. Constitutional referendums The government proposed the Third Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968, which would have allowed for divergence in the ratio of population to representation across Dáil constituencies, and the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1968, which would have altered the electoral system from proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) to first past the post (FPTP). They were put to referendums on 16 October 1968, and both were defeated by a margin of 39.2% to 60.8%. It was the second time a Fianna Fáil government had proposed to introduce FPTP, with a previous referendum defeated in 1959. Confidence in the government On 5 November 1968, Taoiseach Jack Lynch proposed a motion of confidence in the government, which was debated over three days. On 7 November, it was approved on a vote of 68 to 60. See also Dáil Éireann Constitution of Ireland Politics of the Republic of Ireland References Governments of Ireland 1965 establishments in Ireland 1969 disestablishments in Ireland Cabinets established in 1965 Cabinets disestablished in 1969 18th Dáil