Taoiseach warns against complacency in wake of polls

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has warned against complacency and urged voters to come out and vote 'Yes' in the marriage equality referendum after an opinion poll showed the proposal is likely to be passed.

Mr Kenny said that the referendum will only be passed if the electorate come out in sufficient numbers and vote to give gay and lesbian couples the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples in Ireland.

According to today's Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll, support for the Yes side is running at 70 per cent with the No side receiving 30 per cent support but the margin has narrowed since the last such poll in March.

Asked about the poll, Mr Kenny stressed that the government was not taking anything for granted in the last week of the campaign and reiterated the need for people to come out and vote Yes next Friday.

"Of course I am concerned – I am concerned about any referendum. It cannot be passed unless people vote for it," said Mr Kenny speaking at Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork early this morning.

“That means not only should they have an interest in this but they have got to go out to the polling station, get their ballot paper and mark it. That is how referenda are passed in any case.

“Of course the history of referenda in this country is that you have significant numbers who voted against every referenda but this is a really sensitive and important issue.

“Are we in 2015 going to have a situation where we deny the right of people, men and women, who have a love for each other to sign a civil contract in civil law to extend the institution of marriage to them?

“Any time a person goes to Croke Park, 10 per cent of that crowd are gay people. That is the general average. We cannot leave them in limbo but it can only happen if the Irish people vote for it.”

“On Friday, the people who are the electors should understand the power of their vote. They have the power to give and they have the power to refuse.

“I expect them to open the doors of our society and say to men and women, yes, you are welcome – you are of our country and you are of our society and we welcome you to let you be the person you are.

“No referendum can be carried unless people go out and vote for it. We are urging everybody not just to have an interest in this but to go out and vote. Every ballot is vital.

“That is the real poll and that will be on May 22nd. I can never be in any way complacent about this.”

“The essence of this is all about equality. It is not to leave thousands of people in our society in limbo.”

“We have evidence of ordinary people telling their stories and the secrets they have lived for years and the pressure that they have lived under with for years.

“But it is now within our remit and within our grasp to give them that kind of freedom to be the kind of people they can be once that pressure is removed ... we can give them this liberty by voting Yes.”

“[Turnout] is always an issue in every referendum. I remember in the Children’s Referendum you have 25 per cent of people voting against. There can be no complacency whatsoever in this.

“Everybody who is considering their view and absorbing the information, this is their opportunity to actually open their doors to equality. This is only about civil marriage and it is important to say that.”

“We are strengthening the institution through civil law to people who are currently prohibited from entering into that position where they want to commit to another person with their love for the rest of their lives.”