On March 9, a referendum that would have amended the Irish Constitution to change misogynistic language overwhelmingly failed in the Irish legislature.
The amendments were first proposed in 2018 by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, along with the Minister with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration, David Stanton. In their joint statement, the ministers sought to hold the referendum on the same day as the 2018 presidential election. However, the Oireachtas, Ireland’s legislature, found that there was insufficient time to prepare for the referendum. The referendum was finally approved by both houses of the Oireachtas in January of 2024, setting the stage for the March referendum.
The constitutional amendments sought to remove problematic wording in the first and second sections of Article 41 of the Irish Constitution, which outlines the family unit and its role in Irish society. The proposed 39th “Family” Amendment, focused on the narrow definition of a family outlined in Article 41.1.
The original text states: “The State recognises the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society, and as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.” The Family Amendment would insert the clause “whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships,” after the word “family” in the original text. This would expand the definition of family beyond the traditional concept of marriage, to encompass domestic partnerships and other forms of non-traditional family units.
The 40th “Care” Amendment sought to address language regarding the role of women in society. In Article 41.2, the Constitution states, “In particular, the State recognizes that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved” and that “the State shall, therefore, 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.”
The text thus positions women as natural homemakers, calling on an antiquated understanding of the role of women in society, which policymakers no longer felt held true in the Ireland of 2024. The positioning of women as homemakers discourages women from participating in the workforce and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about traditional gender norms. Moreover, the text also positions all caregiving activities as feminine roles, perpetuating gender stereotypes. Such stereotypes root Ireland’s constitutional law in misogyny. The 40th Amendment proposed to remove the section in its entirety as opposed to changing it as the 39th Amendment did with Article 41.1.
Both the 39th and 40th Amendments received broad support from Ireland’s major parties. The two main parties in government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, both backed the bill and so did the leader of the opposition, Sinn Féin.
However, members of Sinn Féin, especially its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, have simultaneously been vocal critics of the wording and proposed implementation of the Amendments. Sinn Féin sees the proposed wording as flawed as they want the amendments to ensure protections for homemakers and further widen the definition of family. The vast majority of the country’s political establishment supported the amendments.
In spite of the referendum’s bipartisan support and extensive consideration in the legislature, Irish voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure. In total, 68% of voters voted against the Family Amendment while 74% voted against the Care Amendment.
This unexpected result prompts the question: why did notoriously progressive Irish voters turn down two progressive constitutional amendments?
The amendments proposed by the government differ greatly from the recommendations proposed by a Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality. A Citizens’ Assembly is composed of ninety-nine Irish citizens who are randomly selected to represent the population as a whole. There is an additional nonpartisan Chairperson to facilitate discussions.
In 2019, the Oireachtas commissioned the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality to issue a report on possible constitutional amendments regarding gender equality. In June 2021, the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality issued a report that provided guidelines and recommendations for the 39th and 40th Amendments.
The recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly regarding the Family Amendment differed significantly from the text put to referendum. The Citizens’ Assembly suggested that the definition of family be expanded beyond the confines of a marital family — a provision included in the proposed amendment. However, the phrasing, “or on other durable relationships,” takes a much narrower stance than the assembly proposal, which not only recommended the protection of all forms of family life, but also private life as well.
There is an even larger discrepancy between the referendum and the Citizens’ Assembly’s proposals for the Care Amendment. The Citizens’ Assembly proposed that “Article 41.2 of the Constitution should be deleted and replaced with language that is not gender specific and obliges the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community.”
The referendum proposal only went halfway, removing the entirety of Article 41.2 without replacing it with more inclusive terms. The proposition therefore failed to enshrine necessary constitutional protections for caregivers irrespective of gender. The government’s failure to include the suggestions of the Citizens’ Assembly is the primary reason for the referendum’s failure.
Georgetown and Ireland have a long and vibrant history together. Some of the earliest Jesuit leaders of the institution came from Ireland, most notably Rev. James Ryder, who founded the Philodemic Society in 1830. More recently, Georgetown’s Global Irish Studies Department hosted Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin and a vocal critic of the implementation of the 39th and 40th Amendments, on March 14. During her visit, McDonald spoke to students, addressing a range of questions from Ireland’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war to the failed constitutional amendments, in which she restated her opposition to the wording and cited the failure to fully incorporate the suggestions of the Citizens’ Assembly as the key reason for its failure.
Additionally, McDonald discussed a number of issues facing Ireland. Among these was Ireland’s worsening housing crisis. Years of poor policy have restricted urban development, leading demand for new housing to severely outpace the government’s capacity to construct new homes and increasing rental and buying costs.
McDonald also detailed Sinn Féin’s primary political goal: Irish reunification by the end of the decade, for Sinn Féin to achieve their lofty goal of uniting the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland, which have remained separated since 1921. McDonald focused on leading by example and creating an Ireland that all citizens want to be part of. This will involve solving existing issues like the housing crisis. It will also demand the creation of an inclusive society that respects the perspectives of all people, including minorities as well as unionists and republicans.
The failure of the two amendments is unlikely to last as Sinn Féin, who won the second most seats in the previous election in addition to winning the popular vote, has vowed to rerun the amendments with the language suggested by the Citizens’ Assembly. However, the fallout from the failed amendments has already had a substantial impact.
Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, or prime minister of Ireland, unexpectedly resigned after the failure of the amendments. Many observers have speculated that his resignation was, in part, due to the failed referendum. Fianna Fáil’s and Fine Gael’s inability to pass the widely supported amendments represents a costly political failure at a time when Sinn Féin’s popularity has been steadily increasing. Sinn Féin is well positioned to not only win in the Republic of Ireland’s next elections but retain their majority in Northern Ireland as well.
