Coalition urged to publish wording for family, care and gender referendums

An alliance of five civil society organisations including the National Women’s Council, Family Carers Ireland and Siptu has called on the Government to publish the wording for the referendums on family, care and gender equality and to clarify the timeline for the votes to take place.

The texts had been expected by May of this year with the votes provisionally scheduled for November. The wordings, however, have yet to be published and on Wednesday the Taoiseach said the Electoral Commission had indicated it believes a 16-week information campaign will be required, something that suggests the November timeline will not be adhered to.

On Thursday the alliance, which also includes Treoir, an organisation representing single parents, and One Family (formerly Cherish), argued that publication of the proposed wordings at the earliest possible opportunity is necessary to allow a proper public debate.

Women’s roles

“The referendum is our chance to have a national conversation about how to create a more inclusive and caring Ireland, an Ireland where we can remove the limits on women’s roles that’s set out in our Constitution, and instead recognise the diversity of women’s lives and women’s roles in our society,” said National Women’s Council director Orla O’Connor.

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“Article, 41.2, which is commonly known as the article regarding women in the home, has never led to a positive change or supports for women,” she said. “It never protected women who worked in the home and it was a cornerstone for discriminatory policies.”

Speaking at the event, which was attended by unpaid carers and paid care workers, Siptu deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley said that as the Government moves to finalise the wording, it needs to ensure “everybody who provides care is recognised” with the importance of care “in all its form” acknowledged.

She said Siptu estimates there to be 100,000 care assistants in the country. “We don’t have a precise breakdown because caring has not featured highly enough on the political agenda to be counted in its own category of work which isn’t good enough.

“We believe it must be rectified … Some people argue that including care in our Constitution would be largely symbolic but we don’t agree with that. The Constitution sets out the fundamental principles of our democracy, it establishes our rights and institutions and is the basis of our social contracts. Care work belongs in the Constitution, because care work is the cornerstone of our society.”

Service provision

Catherine Cox of Family Carers Ireland said the recognition of care in the Constitution would give organisations representing carers a basis on which to push for recognition of rights and the provision of services.

“The wording needs to do two things,” she said. “First of all, recognise and value care. Then, secondly, oblige the State to support that care.

That would allow us then to lobby for legislation around that because, at the moment, there isn’t a statutory entitlement to home care. We’ve been promised one for many years. We still haven’t seen it. Carers don’t have any statutory right to respite care. We’re looking for 20 days minimum, but we have no legislation that enforces carers’ rights. So we would see this as a foundation for pushing and lobbying for that legislation.”