LAST UPDATE | 8 Mar 2023
THE GOVERNMENT HAVE announced that referendums on issues relating to gender equality are to take place this November.
In particular, the referendum would focus on amendments to Article 41 of the Constitution, which contains references to ‘women’s life in the home’.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that the Government intended to hold the referendum later this year, following recommendations from both the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality and a special Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality.
Speaking outside Government Buildings, Varadkar said that while the Constitution had served the Irish State well, it did need to be brought up to modern standards.
“86 years in existence, Bunreacht na hEireann has served us well, but it needs to be modernised,” Varadkar told reporters.
“The Constitution serves to protect rights and freedoms and its principles have a profound effect on the State and citizens and the power of the Oireachtas to legislate.
While predominantly positive, the Constitution is not truly reflective of the modern Ireland we all know today.”
He added that discriminatory language and language that “perpetuates gender stereotypes” does not belong in the Constitution.
He added that the referendum would “enshrine gender equality” within the Constitution.
Varadkar told the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party this evening that changing the constitution is never easy and referendums have been lost in the past due to lack of planning.
Party colleagues heard a lot of work has to be done between now and November to ensure the wording is right and a decision made on whether enabling legislation is necessary.
The National Women’s Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement this morning, saying that if passed, it would be a “significant change”.
“This is a timely and significant announcement for women, for families, and for gender equality,” said Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council.
“It‘s a unifying proposal which, if passed, would replace the outdated, limited role for women with a recognition of the value of care, both in the home and in the community. It would bring a new legal definition of the family which would match the reality for one-parent families and all diverse families.”
The Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality recommended in June 2021 that two Articles of the Constitution be amended: Articles 40 and 41.
Article 40.1 currently states that “all citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law”, with the Citizens’ Assembly calling for the passage to be amended to explicitly refer to gender equality.
The Citizens’ Assembly also recommended amending Article 41, which recognises families as a fundamental and primary group of Irish society.
It was recommended that this article be amended to continue to place protections on family life, but that protections should not be limited to the marital family.
Recommendations were also made for Article 41.2 of the Constitution, which currently reads:
“In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.”
The Citizens’ Assembly has called for it to be deleted and replaced with language which is not gender specific.
The Citizens’ Assembly also recommended that Article 41.2 contain obligations from the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and the wider community.
According to Varadkar, it was not yet certain whether multiple referenda would be required or if it would be possible to make the three amendments using a single omnibus referendum.
Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman said that an inter-departmental committee would be established, with the wording of the referenda to be decided on by mid-May.
Legislation to allow the referendum take place would then be published by the end of June, with passage through the Dáil and Seanad then to follow.
The campaign for the referendum is expected to begin at the end of September.
News of the referendum has been welcomed today, with Labour leader Ivana Bacik saying that it was good to see a date set.
However, she said that the referendum must cover all three recommendations that were made by the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality.
Bacik, who chaired the Special Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, said that “sexist” language within the Constitution around women and mothers must be removed.
“The changes recommended to Article 41 would remove the sexist language currently in the text referring exclusively to women and mothers as having a ‘life’ and ‘duties’ within the home. Instead, the proposed changes would insert gender-neutral language to ensure that the role of care is recognised, valued and supported by the State,” Bacik said.
“The proposed changes would also ensure a more inclusive definition of ‘family’- beyond the family based upon marriage currently recognised in Article 41.”
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