In a recent, and decisive, vote, Irish citizens rejected two proposed amendments to the nation’s constitution. Both amendments were proposed with the intention of modernizing the definition of family and shifting gender roles within the household, but according to this report, an overwhelming majority of voters disagreed with the proposed changes.
The first rejected amendment, the 39th Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023, sought to protect families that formed from “durable relationships” that do not involve marriages. The second amendment, the 40th Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023, aimed to acknowledge that care within the family could be provided by all members and not just mothers.
The proposed 40th amendment included provisions to repeal Article 41(2) of the Constitution, which currently mandates that women must not neglect their “duties in the home”. However, some critics argued that the language used throughout the amendments was not expansive enough and did not align with the recommendations from the Irish Parliament’s Joint Committee on Gender Equality.
According to the committee’s report, the term “durable relationships” is too vague, and a more comprehensive definition of “family” should be considered. The Citizens’ Assembly also stated that the language of the proposed amendments should make the government’s obligation to protect women’s rights more explicit.
Despite calling for a reflection on this “comprehensive defeat”, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has faced criticism for the rejected amendments’ language. As Laura Cahillane, an associate professor at the University of Limerick School of Law, explained on Twitter, some feel that there was a lack of interest in listening to concerns about the amendments from the government’s side.
Ultimately, Irish voters decisively rejected both the 39th and 40th amendments, with the former being refused by 67.7 percent of voters, while the latter saw a rejection rate of 73.9 percent.