As adopted the Free State constitution contained a number of provisions for direct democracy, which included a special role for the Senate. Most importantly it was provided that the Senate could, if three fifths of its members agreed, demand a binding referendum on any bill. This was to allow the Senate to appeal to voters directly if there was a disagreement between the two houses and if the Dáil attempted to override the Senate. However, this power was taken from the Senate in 1928 before it had been put into use. It was in compensation for this loss that the Senate's powers of delay were increased in the same year.