Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has conceded defeat in a vote on two constitutional amendments that would expand the definition of the family and the role of women.
Mr Varadkar previously told voters the referendum was an opportunity to abolish “very outdated and very sexist language about women”.
The first constitutional amendment bill asked the public to expand the definition of family from one based on marriage to include “permanent relationships” such as couples living together and their children.
The second proposed amendment would replace language regarding the mother’s role with “domestic duties” to recognize care providers.
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Votes are being held on two amendments to Ireland’s constitution that would expand the definition of family and remove language regarding women’s role in the household. (Damien Strang/PA via AP)
Siobhan Mullaly, professor of law at the University of Galway and director of the Irish Center for Human Rights, said the referendum was a “missed opportunity” to provide a more comprehensive definition of custodian.
Mulally said some disability rights and social justice advocates oppose the bill because the definition of a caregiver is too restrictive.
“It was a huge missed opportunity,” Mulally said. “The majority of people certainly want that sexist language removed from the Constitution. There have been calls for it for years, and it took a very long time for a referendum to be held. But they proposed replacing it with this very limited and weak provision of care.”
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar spoke to the media on Saturday at Dublin Castle in Dublin about the twin referendums on family and care constitutional amendments. (Damien Strang/PA via AP)
Mr Varadkar, who pushed for the vote, said voters had given the government “two shocks”.
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“Obviously we were wrong,” he said. “There is an old adage that says successful people have many fathers and failures have orphans, but I think a lot of people misunderstand that when you lose by such a wide margin, I definitely agree. I’m alone.”
Irish No campaigners celebrated in Dublin on Saturday at Dublin Castle after the results of the first of twin referendums on family and care constitutional reforms were announced. (Damien Strang/PA via AP)
Opponents of the constitutional amendment argued that the concept of a “permanent relationship” was undefined and confused, and that women and mothers were “erased” from the constitution.
“It was too fast,” said Una Ui Douin, a nurse from Dublin. “I didn’t have enough time to think about it or read about it. So, just to be clear, I felt like, ‘No, no,’ there’s no change.”
PhD student Caoimhe Doyle voted in favor of changing the definition of family, but against the care amendment because “I don’t think it’s explained well enough”. That’s what he said.
“There are concerns that the burden on the state to take care of families will be lifted,” she says.
Votes were counted on Saturday at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) in Dublin for twin referendums to amend the Irish Constitution on family and care. (Damien Strang/PA via AP)
The amendments come as Ireland is gradually changing from a conservative Catholic country to a gradually socially liberal society.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of residents who are Catholic has fallen from 94.9% in 1961 to 69% in 2022.
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The country of 5.3 million people chose to remove constitutional restrictions on same-sex marriage in 2015 and abolish abortion in 2018.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
