On Mar. 8, International Women’s Day, people will be asked to vote in two referendums concerning the Irish Constitution’s definition of family and its reference to women’s duty within the home.
For many of our readers, this will be their first opportunity to vote in a referendum, which can be both exciting and daunting. To help you form a better understanding of the upcoming referendum, here is the information as it is available now.
So what are the referendums actually about? The first referendum will ask if the language in Articles 41.1 and 41.3 should be changed to include a broader, more inclusive definition of family.
Article 41.1 currently reads that “The State recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental group of Society”. Voters will be asked if the article should be amended to include “whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships”.
This referendum would also provide the opportunity to alter Article 41.3, removing the term “on which the Family is founded” from its pledge to protect the institution of marriage
The goal of these amendments, according to Taoiseach Leo Vradkar, is to “enable the Constitution to catch up with contemporary reality” and to extend constitutional protections so that they are “not limited to the marital family”.
The second referendum is with regards to women’s role and caring in the home. The current proposal is to entirely remove article 41.2, which says “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 state shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home”.
It has been proposed that this would be replaced by a new Article 42B which would say that “ the State recognises that the provision of care by members of a family to one another by reason of the bonds that exist between them, gives to Society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved and shall strive to support such provision”.
A number of civil society groups, in particular the National Women’s Council and Family Carers Ireland, have come forward in support of a Yes vote in both referendums. Orla O’Connor, director of the NWCI, has said that “The outdated language on ‘women’s duties in the home’ never reflected the reality of women’s lives and was at the heart deep gender inequalities” and describes the referendum as a “chance to remove the limits on women from our Constitution and instead recognise the value of care in all of its forms, in the home and in the wider community”.
Voting offers us all an opportunity to have our voices and opinions heard, and changes to the constitution are an important matter which can impact all of our lives. To be able to vote on Mar. 8, you must register to vote by the Feb. 20 2024. This includes ensuring that the information you used to previously register is correct by this date.
Those registering for Postal or Special voting must apply to their local authority by Feb. 12. Students studying full-time in an Irish educational institution away from their home address may be eligible for postal voting.
To register you can either fill out an application form and send it to your local authority or you can visit checktheregister.ie and fill out the application online.