A recent panel discussion on the upcoming referendum identified a knowledge gap among the public of what impact their votes will have.

As debate grows on the referendums to change references to families and women’s roles in the Constitution, Donegal Women’s Centre hosted an information session last Friday for the public to ask questions and get more informed.

The event included speakers from the National Women’s Council and Family Carers Ireland and was chaired by Siobhan Cullen Chairperson of Donegal Women’s Centre and family law lecturer.

Although a Yes vote was advocated by the two organisations presenting at the event, the purpose of the session was to enable discussion and encourage questions and debate. 

It was apparent from the audience responses that there is a lack of information being circulated about the context of the referendum as well as the implications, both of which have long been debated by government and women’s rights organisations. There was a consensus that the audience had learned more about the context for the proposed constitutional changes as well as the implications for carers because of this public event which was a welcome, positive response.

Mary Herlihy, Manager of Donegal Women’s Centre welcomed the audience to the Centre and gave an overview of its purpose, to support women’s health, wellbeing, safety and equality.

The Referendum on 8th March 2024 proposes to amend Article 41, including broadening the definition of the family to include both marriage and other durable relationships as well as replacing “women’s role within the home” with a gender-neutral version based on family carers.

Rachel Coyle National Women’s Council presented, highlighting the lack of inclusivity within the current definition of marriage which is based on marriage only and the sexist language and/ or gender stereotyping which refers to women’s role within the home and mother’s duties.

Rachel emphasised that, whilst some women do indeed work within the home, the key feature must be equality and choice which means that women do what they want to do.

She said: “These votes are our opportunity to shape a fairer, more equal Ireland where all families and children are valued equally. An Ireland where a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be and the important contribution of care by both men and women is recognised. It’s our chance to send a strong message to the government that we want to see supports for families and for care.”

Siobhan Cullen informed the audience that 43% of children in Ireland are currently born outside of marriage and the nature of families has evolved considerably since 1937 with a diverse range of family structures and, whilst marriage remains protected by the proposed changes, other “durable relationships” may also be families.

Siobhan also commented: “It is important to remove gender stereotyping and acknowledge that, whilst many women work within the home, so too do men and other family carers. Also, many women now work outside the home. The language should be gender neutral as the constitution reflects our overarching values and ethos as a society”.

The issue of protecting carers arose in numerous questions from the audience. Patricia Blee from Family Carers Ireland stated: “These votes are our opportunity to shape a fairer, more equal Ireland where all families and children are valued equally. An Ireland where a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be and the important contribution of care by both men and women is recognised. It’s our chance to send a strong message to the government that we want to see supports for families and for care.”

The emphasis was on the fact that the proposed new wording enhances the role of carers and provides the State with a duty to strive to support them in this essential role.

As well as Board members Alison Egan and Brid McIntyre, the event was attended by local politicians including Fianna Fail Councillor Donal Mandy Kelly who supported the informative nature of the discussion as well as Councillor Gerry McMonagle and MEP Chris McManus from Sinn Fein and numerous members of the public who participated in the lively discussion.

This was the first such event in Donegal in relation to the forthcoming referendum on 8th March and will be followed by a subsequent event hosted by Donegal Women’s Centre in collaboration with ATU (date to be confirmed) as well as a number of drop-in sessions at Donegal Women’s Centre prior to the referendum-the dates will be published in the near future.

Donegal Women’s Centre would like to thank all those who supported this important event, in particular National Women’s Council of Ireland and Family Carer’s Ireland for attending the event in order to provide the audience with the perspectives of each organisation. The importance of voting on 8th March 2024 was emphasised by all speakers since this is the only way to have our voices heard on this issue which has been discussed and debated for many years.

Mary Herlihy Manager of Donegal Women’s Centre was delighted to host the event and commented “The event was hugely successful. Hosting an event like this to discuss issues that proportionally affect women and will have an impact on future generations is what the Centre is about. It was very interesting to get a range of points of view in the one room.”