On Saturday, March 9, the results of Ireland’s Family and Care referendums were revealed, determining that both had been resoundingly defeated. The former received 32.3% votes in favour and 67.7% against, while the latter was rejected by an even more significant margin of 26.1% to 73.9%.

The first referendum proposed an expansion of the constitutional definition of “family” – one which is founded not only on marriage but also on “other durable relationships”. For many, it was seen as a progressive step forward in representing the diverse family structures present in modern-day Irish society. However, 1,021,546 voters did not support the change, outweighing the 487,564 who did. It was defeated in all but one Dáil constituency: Dún Laoghaire.

The second referendum proposed the deletion of Article 41.2 from the Constitution of Ireland, which proclaims that the State will “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.” It would have been replaced with Article 42B, which read, “The State recognises that the provision of care, by members of a family to one another by reason of the bonds that exist among them, gives to Society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved, and shall strive to support such provision.”

While it initially appeared to be a positive step in removing sexist language from the Irish Constitution, disability rights activists, carers and representative groups raised grave concerns about the proposed wording. Ultimately, it was defeated in all 39 constituencies, receiving the highest ever No vote percentage in an Irish referendum. Just 393,053 people were in favour, compared to 1,114,620 against.

The referendum results have sparked mixed reactions throughout Ireland, as well as widespread criticism of the government.

The govt is responsible for NoNo vote. Terrible wordings. Dreadful yes campaign that featured establishment politicians, no lone parents, disabled, carers. A lesson that Ireland’s conservative establishment can’t deliver even minimal progress. Real change alway forced from below.

— Ruth Coppinger (@RuthCoppingerSP) March 9, 2024

Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman expressed that he was “extremely disappointed” by the outcome, saying it was “up to the Government to make the case that that amendment would pass”.

“We have not succeeded in making that case to the Irish people today. I accept that decision and Government accepts the decision,” he said. While some opposition TDs called for his resignation, O’Gorman stated that he has no intention of leaving his post.

Supporting his colleague, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar affirmed, “I have full confidence in him, as have the Government.” The Fine Gael leader, whose party campaigned for a Yes Yes vote, added, “Clearly we got it wrong. Enda Kenny famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop – this is two wallops.”

Similar to O’Gorman, Varadkar stated: “It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote Yes. We’ve clearly failed to do so…I think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all – let alone the wording.”

This point was reflected in the low turnout, with just 44.4% of eligible voters taking to the polls, a 19% decrease from the abortion referendum in 2018.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald criticised the government for going on a “solo run”, saying they “failed to collaborate in any way”.

She added that they “had come up short” in terms of the wording of the Care referendum, leaving people with “an unbalanced decision to make”.

The politician previously stated that if the proposed changes were rejected, should her party be elected into power, they would revisit the issues.

Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council who spearheaded a campaign for Yes votes, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the result.

“We certainly know there’s a proportion of No voters who wanted wording to go further and felt that this referendum wasn’t delivering enough,” she commented.

“So in our view, the Irish public do value care and they do value families. So we will go back and we will fight for those things and continue to fight for equality for families and equality for women.”

Elsewhere, Independent Senator Tom Clonan said he was “relieved” by the outcome of the Care referendum, explaining that the proposed wording would have brought Ireland into international disrepute because it was “completely contrary” to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He added that YES YES campaigners “were actually endorsing a wording that is ableist, that is toxic to the rights of disabled people and carers…And a lot of people in the disabled community and carers were very distressed by that and were very hurt by that.

“And that’s going to have to be a part of the conversation in the coming weeks as well,” he commented.

Similarly, Dr Margaret Kennedy, co-founder of the Equality Not Care group, said the proposed wording classed disabled people as “burdens”.

“We felt like we were a burden, that we were being cast as burdens on society. And so families would look after us, but the State wouldn’t. There was no recognition that the State had any responsibility for disabled citizens or sick citizens or elderly citizens,” she expressed.

“Non-disabled people really must understand that ableism – that is the exclusion of disabled people and ill people and older people – is actually very, very rooted in politics.

“We have to get it out of politics. We have to get out of education. We have to get it out of medicine.

“It is almost like a disease in its own right that is eating away at the whole community.”

A great day for democracy pic.twitter.com/LzwlNpaeUP

— Equality Not Care (@equalitynot42B) March 9, 2024

Regarding the Family referendum, campaigner Karen Kiernan said, “It is so disappointing that this opportunity to include unmarried and single parent families in our Constitution has been rejected by the Irish people.”

Kiernan, the Chief Executive of One Family, a group representing lone-parent households, said the founders of the organisation have been advocating for this for over 50 years, adding, “The fact that their heartfelt desire for their families to be included in the Constitution is no longer a reality in their lifetimes is a massive rejection to them.”