DOUBLE WALLOP
» Landslide losses at polls for coalition » Leo admits he was ‘wrong’ about results
A BRUISED Leo Varadkar has admitted the Government has been dealt “two wallops” by the electorate as the family and care referendums were “comprehensively” defeated in landslide losses for the coalition.
After being determined to hold the votes on International Women’s Day, the Irish public voted against the Government’s suggestion to remove the clause in the constitution that referred to a women’s duties being in the home.
Following a lacklustre campaign, the family referendum was rejected by 67.69% of people. Just 32.31% voted in favour.
Dun Laoghaire in South Dublin was the only place that decided to pass the amendment, with a narrow win of 50.29%.
Of the 1.53 million people that voted, 1,02 million went against.
The care referendum was defeated even more significantly. Of the 1.5 million valid votes, some 1.14m went against the amendment while 393,053 voted in favour, meaning it was defeated by 73.93%.
Not a single constituency voted in favour of passing the care amendment
Speaking at Dublin Castle, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the electorate had delivered the Government “two wallops”.
He added: “The Government accepts the results and will respect it. As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results.
“It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone the detail and the wording.
“That’s obviously something we’re going to have to reflect on in some of the weeks ahead.
“We clearly got it wrong. Enda Kenny famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop. This is two wallops.”
Mr Varadkar also said he grew concerned in the last few weeks that the referendums may be in trouble.
He added: “When we launched the campaign I was confident the amendments would pass.
“But having been involved in the campaign for the last couple of weeks and talking to a lot of people, certainly, in the last week or two, I became increasingly concerned about the care referendum in particular.
“I thought we were in a stronger place on the family referendum. Clearly, I was incorrect.”
Meanwhile, Equality Minister Roderic O’gorman, rejected calls from Sinn Fein’s Maurice Quinlivan that he should stand down. However, he said he was “very disappointed” by the results. He added: “We clearly have not succeeded in making that case to the Irish people today. I accept that decision and Government accepts that decision. “There will have been a range of reasons that have driven the two strong no votes today. Government will have to reflect on those reasons.” Mr O’gorman said he believes there remains a case “for constitutional reform” of Article 41 which suggests women’s duties are in the home. However, he said it will not be rerun by this Government in this term. Opposition parties, including Sinn Fein, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats all supported a Yes/yes vote. However, the blame game quickly started with the opposition parties defending their campaigns.
Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou Mcdonald said: “It’s important that the people have spoken that they’re heard.
“I think it’s a moment of reflection for the Government who went on a solo run on these matters. They failed to collaborate in any way.
“They also failed to convince the electorate.
“In the end, a Government that has such a bad record in terms of supporting people with disabilities, in terms of recognising and
It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so
supporting caring and carers was never maybe in a position to win a referendum like this with the people.”
Labour’s Ivana Bacik accused the Government of running a “lacklustre” campaign.
She added: “The Government needs to explain to people first why they chose and proceeded with a wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality had proposed.”
Even before midday yesterday, ministers were conceding that they had lost the referendums, with Green Party leader Eamon Ryan saying it was going to be a No/no vote. From early in the week, politicians privately expressed concerns the ballots would not pass.
However, the majority were of the opinion while the family amendment would pass by a “tight” margin while the care referendum was more likely to fall. The landslide loss was not expected. Peadar Toibin, leader of Aontu, the only party who campaigned for a No/ No vote, said: “There is major questions to be asked of the Government.
“This result basically says the majority of people don’t trust the Government.”
Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: “There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time.”