Referendums “in the balance” says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Friday’s referendums on Care and Family are “hanging in the balance” and is calling for voters to turn out.

Speaking to the media on Monday, the Taoiseach said that people tend to engage more with referendums in their final days and has reiterated his stance calling for a Yes-Yes vote.

Polls in recent days show that while the Family vote is likely to pass, there is uncertainty over the Care amendment.

Varadkar stated “by voting Yes-Yes it will keep Ireland on a pathway to liberalism, tolerance and modernity following from the  Yes votes for divorce, marriage equality and to repeal the 8th amendment; a No vote will be seized on as a victory by those who want to slow or stall our progress as a society.”

“Voting Yes for Family, we recognise diverse family structures—co-habiting couples, grandparents raising grandchildren, one parent families —as real families. It is a declaration that every person and every form of family deserves recognition.”

“By voting Yes for Care, we say that family care is not just the work of women or mothers, it should be shared by fathers and sons and that the state should do more to support it.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald made an intervention early in the campaign that stated while her party is calling for a Yes-Yes vote, she would look to re-run the referendums should they fail and Sinn Féin get into power.

She stated that she would look to re-run the referendums using the wording suggested by the Citizen’s Assembly in 2021, with some critics saying what is on the ballot on March 8th has been “watered down.”

In particular, there is concern over the wording of “strive to” in the context of the Care amendment, which some advocacy groups say does not compel the State to make improvements in care, merely providing lip service to it.

Green Party Minister Roderic O’Gorman has defended the wording, saying that “there has to be recognition, and I say this as disability minister — we cannot completely fix every gap in our care system right now. ”

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, O’Gorman said “no one government can make every improvement that’s needed in care at the one time; it has to be something that’s done progressively.”

Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union are advocating for a Yes No vote, saying that the Care amendment “takes a narrow view of carers, pertaining solely to family, and completely disregards the needs of people with disabilities.”

An Rabharta Glas, a left-wing split from the Green Party, has become the only political party in Ireland with elected representation to call for a Yes-No vote.

“The care amendment is a cynical window-dressing exercise which actually abdicates state responsibility for care and erodes the status of people with disabilities and carers,” the party said.

A clip of Varadkar on Virgin Media’s The Six O Clock show stating “I actually don’t think that’s the state’s responsibility to be honest” when asked about the role of State in providing care to families has gone viral, and has led to the Yes-No campaign running with it.

Leo Varadkar on the Six O' Clock Show.

He talks about the importance of care within the family and the state should strive to support that

Leo saying the quiet part outloud.

He goes on to say he personally doesn't believe it's the State's responsibility but the families' pic.twitter.com/9KleF2uvTz

— Ally Mc Culladgh ?? ?? (@culladgh) March 4, 2024