‘Voters had NO understanding’
Minister tries to explain resounding defeat
THE Government has claimed it was the public’s lack of understanding of what the referenda entailed that led to a landslide “No” vote.
The results saw the most overwhelming defeat of a referendum in the history of the State.
Yesterday Minister of State Pippa Hackett said the Government failed to put across to the electorate why they should have voted “Yes” in Friday’s dual referenda on family and care.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected proposed changes to care with almost 74% voting against it – the highest ever “No” vote percentage in an Irish referendum.
The family referendum was also resoundingly defeated with just over 67% of people voting against the amendment.
Speaking on RTE, Ms Hackett said: “We failed to articulate to the electorate why they should vote Yes and Yes in the referenda.” However, because of the size of the “No” vote it is also being seen as a rejection of some of the Government’s policies, especially regarding immigration and gender issues.
Aontu was the only political party to campaign for a “No” vote and yesterday its leader Peadar Toibin said the results were a victory for democracy and for the people against the political establishment.
He added: “The reason it lost is because people did not agree with the amendments that were put to them.
“I think it’s a little bit patronising when people say, well, we didn’t explain that properly or the people didn’t understand it properly.”
Mr Toibin said he agreed with the language in the Constitution being updated, but that it should be changed to include mothers and fathers, as he did not want to see mothers erased from the text.
Independent TD for Clare Michael Mcnamara said the referenda showed Irish democracy was in a good state, but cast a dim light on how the Dail operates.
He added: “The degree of control that the Government exercises over the Dail is unusual compared to any other country in Europe.
“The parliament and the Government are two different institutions.”
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the results were the consequence of a rushed and confused campaign by the Government.
She added: “The Government delayed publishing the wording of both amendments, refused to accept Opposition amendments and guillotined legislation in the Oireachtas and, patronisingly, insisted on holding the referenda on International Women’s Day.”
We failed to articulate why they should vote Yes and Yes PIPPA HACKETT YESTERDAY