Irish bishops have it wrong: referendums needed to ‘reflect diversity of modern Ireland’

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – A leading government official in Ireland has rejected claims by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference that suggests proposed changes to the Irish Constitution on the role and definition of family would weaken the incentive for young people to marry.

On 8 March 2024, Irish citizens will be asked to vote in two referendums – called the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment – to make changes to the text of Article 41 in the Irish Constitution.

In the lead up to the referendums, much of the focus has been on the current so-called woman in home clause of the Constitution says the Irish State will “endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”