Irish government 'walloped' by referendum defeats

Referendum on the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment in Ireland

Signage is seen in relation to a referendum on changes to the Irish constitution called the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment, in Dublin, Ireland, March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

Source: REUTERS

Irish voters have rejected proposals to replace constitutional references to the makeup of a family and a mother's "duties in the home" in a significant defeat for the government.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had pitched the vote, held on Friday to coincide with International Women's Day and counted on Saturday, as a chance to delete some "very old-fashioned, very sexist language about women".

A proposal to expand the definition of family from a relationship founded on marriage to include other durable relationships was rejected by 67.7% to 32.3%.

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A second referendum on a proposal to replace language surrounding a woman's duties in the home with a clause recognising the role of family members in the provision of care was rejected by 73.9% to 26.1%.

Campaigners argued the proposal would enshrine care as a private responsibility, and not a state one.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Saturday, Varadkar said voters had given his government "two wallops".

"It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes, and we clearly failed to do so."

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters