Taoiseach would like to see referendum on ‘woman’s place in the home’ next year

The Taoiseach has said he would like to see a referendum on the constitutional clause about a woman’s place being in the home take place next year.

Appearing before the Oireachtas gender committee on gender equality on Wednesday, Micheál Martin warned that referendums had been lost through “bad preparation” and when people feel uninformed or that “the wool was being pulled over their eyes”.

The Fianna Fáil leader said the “most dangerous referendums” were those when all parties were in favour of an issue.

He said that if the committee could bring a “definitive conclusion and certainty” on how the issue should be approached, he would “like to see a referendum in 2023.”

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Article 41.2 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”.

[ Referendum on women’s place in home should be held next year, Oireachtas report says ]

Devil in detail

Mr Martin said the “devil is in the detail” when it came to how to word the proposal and that sufficient time would have to be given to a referendum commission to do its work before the issue is put to a vote.

He said he wanted to see the greatest degree of Oireachtas consensus on the wording possible, with the gender equality committee set to complete a report on the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality, including the recommendations for constitutional change.

“The more simple we keep it the better from a constitutional perspective,” he said.

Given the potential impact of a referendum on the role of carers - the relevant article of the constitution, 41.2, is seen as providing a constitutional affirmation of the public good provided by care work - the Taoiseach said he accepts that the question cannot be one of a “simple deletion” of the current text.

[ Careful wording needed for referendum on women’s ‘place’ in the home, Minister says ]

He also ruled out a requirement that domestic violence victims would have to prove to their employer they had been abused in order to secure paid leave from work.

“There is no intention to bring in the requirement for proof,” he told Sinn Féin’s Kildare North TD Reada Cronin. “I’m the Taoiseach of the Government, I’m telling you it’s not the intention to do that.”

Mr Martin said he was “surprised” at a submission from employer’s body Ibec, which was reported last week, raising a number of concerns about Government plans to bring in a law allowing five days of paid sick leave for domestic abuse victims. The Coalition is moving ahead with the plan to introduce a five day statutory provision for domestic violence leave.

“When a woman comes forward to an employer… it’s not a cross examination the person requires, it’s consideration, help, assistance and the provision of the leave,” Mr Martin told the committee. He said it was open to employers to go beyond that level.

[ Eighth Amendment may be gone but mindset that gave rise to it persists ]

Gender quotas

Mr Martin told the committee that he felt gender quotas were an effective tool at national level, but that the issue was not so straightforward at local level, where he felt there were other barriers that needed to be addressed.

He also raised the possibility of further salary increases for local politicians, saying improvements have helped and “could maybe be enhanced into the future at local government level”.

Mr Martin said that the recommendations on constitutional change made by the Citizen’s Assembly on gender equality were in a “complex area” and he welcomed a position paper developed by the committee.

The Taoiseach said that making meaningful advances in gender equality will require a “broad and inclusive approach” and that the Government is “genuinely committed” to advancing measures on the issue.