Government pledges to stick to referendum rules

The Government has pledged to adhere to guidelines in future refere-nda after criticism from the Supreme Court and calls by campaigners for corrective action.

There were calls for a rerun of the children’s referendum after the court said the Government acted wrongfully by spending €1.1m on a campaign which was partially not fair, equal, or impartial.

Chief Justice Susan Denham said the Government placed the rights of the yes side above those against the vote, and this breached rules on the spending of funds in referenda.