Ivana Bacik calls for gender-neutral Constitution 

All outdated and non-inclusive language must be removed, says the Labour Party leader

Labour leader Ivana Bacik gives her opening speech at the 72nd Labour Party Conference at the Silver Springs Hotel, Cork, on Friday evening. Picture: Andy Gibson

The Irish Constitution needs a complete overhaul to make it gender-neutral, the Labour Party leader has said.

Ivana Bacik has said that as well as taking out "sexist language" about women in the home, Bunreacht na hÉireann needs to be fully reviewed to remove all outdated and non-inclusive language.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner ahead of the Labour conference in Cork this weekend, Ms Bacik said the constitution is "peppered" with gender-specific references.

"A gender-neutral text was written back in 1996 by an expert group doing a constant review of the Constitution, and they published how the constitutional text would look if it was gender-neutral.

"It's a really great exercise because, for example, article 45 of the Constitution refers to widows, but not widowers," she said.

The Government has announced its intention to hold a referendum on gender equality in November to remove the reference to a woman’s place being in the home.

Citizens’ Assembly

The referendum was recently announced following recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality and the special joint Oireachtas committee on gender equality last year.

Welcoming the move, Ms Bacik said that even back in 1937 there were protesters outside the Dáil who were concerned that the text of the draft Constitution was not reflective of the full role of women in society.

Ms Bacik said further work is required to address all parts of the Constitution.

"It would be a much bigger task to put that to the people, a rewrite the Constitution. So, I think let's move in November on the three recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly, but I do think there's a strong case to be made for that fuller update."

She added: "If you look at the Constitution review in the '90s, even now looking back at it some years later, I think you'd say well, actually, that's not quite right and we'd update it.

"Of course, they were doing that rewrite before, for example, marriage was reinterpreted in 2015. They were also writing this before 2018 and Repeal of the Eighth.

"It's not all negative in the sense of the Constitution has been updated and there have been some very positive changes, but then the glaring anomaly is still the women, article 41 on women, mothers, and the narrow, restrictive definition of family. Those are clearly the most urgent revisions to make."