Ireland overwhelmingly rejects family and care amendment, govt accepts defeat in referendum

Irish people on Friday (Mar 8) overwhelmingly voted against amending the Irish Constitution, in a huge setback for the government. The referendums, whose results were declared late Saturday (Mar 9),would have altered the wording around family and home care in the country’s constitution. A whopping 67.7 per cent of people voted against extending legal benefits to families not based on the institution of marriage while 73.9 per cent of people said no to a proposed change in the role of women in the home.

Irish PM accepts defeat

The government had earlier urged people to vote in favour of the amendments and not to take a “step backwards.” Hours before the full results were announced, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar acceptedgovernment’s defeat.

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“The family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated – defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout,” he said.

The sheer scale of rejection also came as a humiliation for opposition parties and advocacy groups who had joined hands with the government to support the changes.

The defeat even prompted calls for prominent campaign figures such as the children’s minister, Roderic O’Gorman, to resign. However, experts say the setback is not strong enough to shatter the ruling coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens.

The family amendment

The voters were asked whether or not they supported the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Bill - otherwise known as the Family Amendment.

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The Irish constitution presently provides legal safeguards for the family unit, but it associates family solely with marriage. The proposed amendment aimed to broaden the constitutional definition of family to include other enduring relationships, such as unmarried couples and single-parent households.

The care amendment

The voters were asked to accept or reject the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution Bill - or the Care Amendment.

Currently, the Irish constitution, known as Bunreacht na hÉireann, stipulates that mothers should not be compelled to prioritise work outside the home over their domestic responsibilities. It also emphasises the importance of women's roles within the home as a source of support to the state for the collective welfare.

The proposed amendment sought to remove these provisions and introduce new language stating that the state should endeavour to support the provision of family-based care.

(With inputs from agencies)