Roderic O'Gorman has 'open mind' about social welfare supports for stay-at-home parents

Equality Minister Roderic O'Gorman: 'I’d certainly examine with a very open mind any support we can give to parents who are in the home. I think we need to do more there.' Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman said he had an “open mind” for creating new social welfare supports for stay-at-home parents.

“I’d certainly examine with a very open mind any support we can give to parents who are in the home. I think we need to do more there," he said.

Mr O’Gorman made the comments in reference to a successful Yes vote in the upcoming referendum around removing the reference in the Constitution to the women’s place in the home and instead replacing it with a recognition of care.

A second referendum will also take place on March 8, which would amend the Constitution to expand the definition of the family.

Asked if it would be possible for a court case to be taken to get socio-economic supports for stay-at-home parents, Mr O’Gorman said he would not be able to speak on a specific court case that could be taken on foot of the potential Constitutional changes.

“What I do see is that right now, care as a concept isn’t recognised in our Constitution and there isn’t that explicit onus on the State to support that care,” Mr O’Gorman said.

“By placing that on the Constitution, whenever in the future there’s budgetary negotiations, whenever there’s Cabinet decisions, that the existence of that in the Constitution will have an impact in terms of the outcome of those discussions.”

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Mr O’Gorman added the Constitution itself was not the correct place to list out specific benefits for carers, but it instead gives the Government and the State its priorities from the public.

I think a Yes vote will be a very clear instruction from the people that care needs to be prioritised by this Government and by future government ministers.

Mr O’Gorman was speaking following a Law Society debate on the two referenda, where independent senator Ronan Mullen was critical of process by which the votes were brought forward.

Responding to this, Mr O’Gorman said the proposed changes to the Constitution had been discussed for over 30 years, with more recent discussions coming from a Citizens’ Assembly, a joint Oireachtas committee and within the Dáil and Seanad.

Last week, the independent information campaign for the referenda was launched by the Electoral Commission, with a booklet containing the proposals set to be delivered to about 2.3 million homes across the State.

The booklet itself sets out the two referendum proposals, alongside detailing the legal effects of both a Yes vote and a No vote.