Independent TD Michael McNamara has voiced his concerns over the disappointingly comprehensive failure of the Government in passing two family and care referendums. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, confessed that the Government fell short in persuading the nation’s citizens, as demonstrated by the emphatic defeat in the polls.
The electorate rejected a proposition to broaden the scope of family to incorporate committed relationships alongside marriages, with 67.69% casting No votes. Concurrently, a substantial 73.9% opposed the call to remove from the Constitution references to a woman’s domestic role and a mother’s responsibilities, and instead recognise familial care.
McNamara, a proponent of the No votes, expressed his concerns about the referendums reflecting poorly on Dáil Éireann’s operations. He criticised the Dáil’s inability to adhere to its constitutional role, as underscored by the overwhelming defeat in the referendums.
Despite both himself and Michael Collins attempting to solicit sufficient support for a vote on the proposals, their efforts were in vain due to a lack of support from Sinn Féin and other parties. McNamara further criticised the Government’s exploitation of their majority, and feared a repetition of this tactic with an impending major planning bill.
McNamara characterised the Government’s influence over Dáil Éireann as out of the ordinary in comparison to other European countries, where the parliament is not entirely subservient to the Government. This includes the use of guillotines and whips as means to exert complete dominance. He further conjectured that the largest opposition group is unlikely to object to this, as they are equally or more stringently whipped, leaving minimal room for constructive dialogue or thorough examination of issues.
“Everything seems to be centred around party disagreements and quarrels, rather than focusing on the actual creation and wording of new laws. This poses a problem for our democratic process,” so the argument goes.
Discussing on the same show, Senator Pippa Hackett from the Green Party suggested that the voting results reveal a failure of the broader Yes campaign. She confessed that the Government is squarely implicated. However, she dismissed the idea that arrogance was involved.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to clearly explain to the voters the reasoning behind supporting Yes/Yes,” she noted.
“It’s a question that has been around for roughly three decades. If you reflect back to the Constitution’s inception, there was confusion over the wording used to describe women’s roles at home.
“We didn’t disregard the Citizens’ Assembly that was held to discuss this issue. The joint Oireachtas committee on gender parity modified some of the proposals. There were three members from Sinn Féin on the committee. There was a common understanding,” she explained.
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