An association of women lawyers is supporting a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendums on family and care. However, the Irish Women Lawyers Association (IWLA) drew attention to a lack of clarity concerning the meaning of “durable” relationships in the proposed amendment to article 41 concerning the concept of family in the Constitution.
The Government proposes to change article 41.1.1 to read: “The State recognises the family, whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships, as the natural and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.”
It proposes to change article 41.3.1 to delete the words “on which the family is founded” from the current text, which reads: “The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded, and to protect it against attack.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the IWLA said it welcomed “the proposed constitutional recognition of families in addition to those which are founded on marriage”.
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“However,” it added, “the IWLA notes that the requirement that people in such families will be required to establish that they are in a ‘durable relationship’ without any further guidance within the Constitution as to what constitutes a ‘durable relationship’, is extremely unfortunate”.
The association welcomed the proposal in the care referendum to delete article 41.2 of the Constitution. That states the State “recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved” and “shall endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties within the home”.
“This article has been entirely ineffective in its stated aim and further has prescribed a role for women which disregards the full range of contributions that women make to Irish society,” the association said.
The proposed amendment provides the State “shall strive to support” the provision of care by members of a family to one another.
While it would have preferred the Government to adopt the recommendation of the Citizens’ Assembly to oblige the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community, the IWLA said “the identification of the valuable contribution carers make to society, together with the removal of the prescribed role for women, are important steps in the right direction”.
“We urge the Government to initiate legislation to give financial support to carers to ensure the acknowledgment of the role of care in the Constitution is no hollow recognition,” it said.
It supported a Yes vote in both referendums, the association said.
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