Referendums on divorce and diaspora for next May

THE Cabinet has cleared the way for the holding of two referendums on the same day as the local and European elections next May.

They will be on proposals to reduce the four-year wait for a divorce to two years, and the mooted extension of the franchise for Presidential elections to the whole Irish diaspora.

The divorce proposal could involve the deletion of the four-year limit from the Constitution, with legislation thereafter to allow a two-year timeframe, in accordance with a private member’s Bill from Josepha Madigan that has been adopted by the Government.

A spokesman for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that ministers yesterday discussed a memo on referendums. He said: ‘Subject to the passage of a necessary Bill, a referendum on the Constitutional provisions on divorce will be held on the same day as the European and Local Elections in May 2019.’

He said it was hoped one on the Presidential franchise would also be ready in time, but it involved detailed consideration of the rules for Irish citizens abroad.

The Taoiseach told the Dáil that one of the questions was on which panel for the upper house people would vote.

A private member’s Bill from Ms Madigan, now the Arts and Heritage Minister, passed second stage in the Dáil in 2016.

It proposes to amend Article 41.3.2 of the Constitution to reduce the minimum period that spouses must have lived apart before applying for divorce.

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan will liaise with Opposition parties on the proposal today. He will then bring a detailed proposal for a Constitutional amendment on divorce in the New Year.

Meanwhile, the proposal to abolish Constitutional reference to a woman’s special place in the home is now mired in pre-legislative scrutiny and will not be ready for next May.