Supreme Court Judge Marie Baker in Ballybane for Family and Care referendum

Members of the Electoral Commission came to Ballybane Community Resource Center yesterday evening to explain the importance and challenges of the referendum on Family and Care. 

Three members of the Electoral Commission, including chairperson Marie Baker organized a dialogue with Galway citizens about the upcoming referendum. 

The referendum for Family and Care will take place on March 8 to vote on two different proposed amendments to the Irish Constitution.

The 39th Amendment of the Constitution Family Bill 2023 proposes to amend article 41.1 by inserting “whether founded on marriage or on other durable relationships”. This would allow people in partnerships who are not married to be protected constitutionally by the state. It also proposes the deletion of the words “on which the Family is founded” from the article 41.3.

The 40th Amendment of the Constitution Care Bill 2023 proposes to delete article 41.2 from the Constitution which deals with women and their “life within the home” and “duties in the home”. The amendment suggests to insert article 42B : “The State recognizes that the provision of care, by members of a family to one another by reason of the bonds that exist among them, gives to Society a support without which the common good cannot be achieved, and shall strive to support such provision.”

In order to raise awareness about the challenges related to those amendments, and political issues in general, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien established the Electoral Commission on 9 February, 2023 under the Electoral Reform Act 2022.

The Electoral Commission has the responsibility of preparing statements explaining the subject matter of the proposal for the referendum and publishing them in both Irish and English across TV, radio, and other electronic media to inform voters. 

“People have to understand the power of voting,” said Marie Baker during the meeting. 

The Supreme Court Judge explained the referendum process and answered citizens’ questions. She also highlighted the importance of being registered to vote. 

“We have to go all around Ireland to let people know what is going on and to make it understandable even if it is not easy with all this constitutional language,” said Art O’Leary, chief executive of the Electoral Commission. 

“The biggest challenge for us will be to try to inform and meet everyone,” he added. “It is not going to be easy.”

The Electoral Commission is set to travel across Ireland in the lead up to the March referendum and will also start preparing for the Unified Patent Court referendum which will take place in June – on the same day as the European elections.