Plan to hold referendum in November on gender equality in doubt

Two senior government ministers said on Monday the wording must be agreed to avoid voter confusion.

Government plans for a November referendum on gender equality and removing a constitutional reference to a woman’s place being in the home are in doubt following confirmation that work to agree the wording will be ongoing into next month at least.

Two senior government ministers said on Monday that Cabinet will be briefed on the ‘state of readiness’ next month following a meeting of the inter-departmental group which has been working on the issue for several months.

Both Finance Minister Michael McGrath and Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney insisted that the Government remains committed to the holding of a referendum on amendments to Articles 40 and 41 of the Constitution, including that the woman "within the home" reference be deleted and replaced.

But they said the wording must be agreed to avoid voter confusion. It comes as Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has said the Government will make a decision shortly on whether to hold the proposed gender equality referendum in November.

Speaking on Monday, Mr McGrath said: "The most important thing is to get it right and not to end up rushing it and put at risk at the outcome that we would like to see which would be a successful one."

The holding of the referendum was announced earlier this year following recommendations from the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality and the special joint Oireachtas committee on gender equality last year.

Article 41.2 of the Constitution contains a recognition that “by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved” and that 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 was also recommended that the Constitution, which has been in place since 1937, should refer explicitly to gender equality and non-discrimination. A Special Oireachtas Committee was then established to consider the recommendations from the Citizens' Assembly and the government response and it concluded its work last December.

Mr McGrath said that work is ongoing, with an update on progress expected in September. Picture: RollingNews.ie

Last March, the Government announced the referendum would take place in November before it then established an inter-departmental group to agree on proposals. In July, the Irish Examiner reported that ministers were warned that holding the referendum in November was "not realistic".

But Mr McGrath said that work is ongoing, with an update on progress expected in September.

“Until we have agreement on a settled wording, we won't be proceeding with the referendum, but that work is ongoing and we do expect that there will be a further meeting of the senior officials group next month — in September,” he said.

“And then we as the government will receive an update from the officials as to the state of readiness. But I think one lesson we have learned from referenda in the past is the importance of having the groundwork fully done, and engaging in a good public debate over a period of time so that all of the issues involved are fully understood and ventilated.

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“So we stand ready to proceed with the referendum once there is agreement on the wording, but I do think the most important thing is to get it right and not to end up rushing it and put at risk the outcome that we would like to see which would be a successful one.” 

Mr Coveney said it’s too early to say at this stage if the failure so far to agree the wording puts the November referendum date at risk.

“I think it's important to say as well that the Government is absolutely committed to this referendum. But we do need to get the wording right,” he said. “What you don't want going into a referendum like this is confusion around what people are being asked to make a decision on.

“So we need enough time to be able to campaign properly so that people are very clear on what they're voting on to get a successful outcome. So the first thing we have to do is get clarity and agreement on the wording and the government wants to see that obviously, as soon as possible."