THE PROPOSED ‘WOMEN in the Home’ referendum will now likely not take place until next year, Children and Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said.

The referendum was due to be held in November, but the Government has yet to publish any wording for the proposed amendment.

Today’s news comes after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said during the summer that he expected the November date to go ahead as planned.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week in Politics programme earlier today, Minister O’Gorman said the Government is taking time to make sure it gets the wording right. 

“I know the Taoiseach has spoken with the Chair of the new Electoral Commission in terms of making sure we have a proper run in to make sure that the proposed changes are done properly.

“I think it’s most likely that it’ll be early next year,” O’Gorman said.

The Electoral Commission has previously said that at least four months will be needed once the proposed wording is published to sufficiently inform the public.

 Senior sources have told The Journal that two referendums will be needed to deal with gender equality in the Constitution. 

One vote will relate to the definition of the family, which the Constitution currently says is based on marriage.

A separate referendum will also need to be held on the deletion of the ‘women in the home’ reference in the Constitution, in favour of recognising care in the home. 

With reporting from Christina Finn.