The Irish prime minister, known as the Taoiseach, has conceded that his government was defeated “comprehensively” when voters rejected amendments to the constitution that the country’s bishops warned would have weakened support for marriage and undermined motherhood.
Despite opinion polls showing a clear majority in favour of the government’s plan to widen the definition of the family to include other “durable relationships” as well as marriage, when votes were counted on March 9, 67.7 percent of citizens rejected the amendment, while 32.3 percent supported it.
A second amendment proposed removing a provision from the 1937 document that said women should not be forced by economic necessity to take a job “to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
Again, polls showed it was likely to pass, but this proposal was rejected by an even wider margin, 73.9 percent to 26.1 percent. It is the highest-ever “no” vote in Irish referendum history.
The amendments had been supported by all political parties except the small Aontú party, which only has one member in the national parliament, known as the Oireachtas.
Speaking at the national count center in Dublin Castle on March 9, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was disappointed by the results. However, he stated, “The people were asked questions, the debates happened, the arguments were heard.”