Getting the wording right for the referendum to replace the “women in the home” article in the Constitution should take priority over the timing of the vote, according to National Women’s Council (NWC) director Orla O’Connor.
She insisted however that the wording should be published as soon as possible – even if the referendum ends up being pushed back to 2024 – to allow time for people to consider it.
Her remarks come after The Irish Times reported on a growing expectation in Government that a referendum to replace the article of the Constitution which refers to women’s “duties in the home” will not go ahead in November as promised.
This is due to difficulties in agreeing a wording for a replacement article and fears a referendum campaign could lead to divisive debates about the definition of the family and gender issues.
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The Government announced plans to put questions to the people on gender equality issues in March.
Wording for as many as three referendums was to be published in June, but this did not happen.
In July, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was still the Government’s intention to proceed with the vote in November.
However, several senior official and political sources told The Irish Times they do not expect the referendum to proceed this year.
On Monday, Ms O’Connor said the NWC recognises that timing is “very tight” for the wording to be ready in time for a November referendum, adding: “I think the priority for us is to get the wording right rather than actually the date.”
Ms O’Connor said the Government should still publish wording “as soon as possible” so that if the referendum is pushed into early 2024 “there is time for people to consider it”.
She said the NWC has “campaigned strongly” to have the women in the home article replaced by a provision relating to the “value of care in all its forms” – not just in the home but in the wider community.
Asked if she could see a scenario where the Government propose a referendum to simply delete the women’s “duties in the home” section and not replace it with wording related to care she said “they might well do that... if they were to go ahead in November”.
She said it would be a “missed opportunity” to change the Constitution so that it is “more fit for a modern Ireland”.
Ms O’Connor said the NWC would still campaign for a Yes vote under such a scenario saying “we want to see that article removed” but repeated that it would be a “missed opportunity” and said that the NWC would continue to campaign to have care recognised in the Constitution in the future.
Speaking in advance of a regional Ibec meeting in Cork, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney both said that it was too early to say at this point that the referendum won’t go ahead this November.
Mr McGrath said: “I think one lesson we have learned from referendums 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.
“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: “The Government is absolutely committed to this referendum. But we do need to get the wording right.”
