Ireland has been lauded for resituating power away from the political establishment, and returning authority to the public through citizens’ assemblies. The 2015 and 2018 referendums legalising gay marriage and abortion respectively changed the perception of Ireland from a previously conservative country to one which embraced progressive change, change which was only made possible through citizens’ assemblies.
However, recent referendums proved an embarrassment for the government, raising questions over the value of citizens’ assemblies and the suitability of referendums to decide important constitutional changes.
The referendums in question concerned amendments to the Irish constitution: changing the meaning of family to be more inclusive of less conventional family units (replacing married couples with ‘durable relationships’) while the other amendment attempted to reorientate the definition of domestic care from women, as the primary caregiver, to the wider family unit.
This would have important implications for the Irish state in protecting the institution of family. An important area this could affect is Ireland’s welfare state. As welfare concerns caregivers and families, their definition is important in determining who receives welfare and who doesn’t. However, as the current definitions in the constitution are more traditional, they enforce societal inequality by encouraging women to stay at home and delegitimising unconventional couples.
The failure of these changes to be ratified was not the fault of the citizens’ assemblies nor proof of the ineffectiveness of referenda, but the fault of the government. The Irish government largely ignored the wording provided by the citizens’ assemblies for the referenda questions and failed to robustly campaign for the necessity of these changes. This led to confusion amongst the Irish electorate about the importance of these reforms, while activists criticised the proposals for being vague or insipid. This is why turnout was at a record low at 44%, a significant drop from the previous referendum in 2018.
When referendums and citizens’ assemblies have been so successful in the past at pushing forward progressive legislation in Ireland, their recent failure demonstrates not their inutility but the necessity of the government presenting a positive case for reform while equally providing the public with clear information about the proposed changes. As with the Brexit referendum, when enacting significant constitutional change, it is fundamental that the public is both consulted and well-informed about the likely outcome of a referendum, or the public will likely opt for the status quo.
“Last month we were lucky enough to be in Ireland when the marriage referendum passed, and yesterday we were lucky to be in DC celebrating #love with friends whose marriage is now recognized across the entire country ❤️💛💚:blu” by valkyrieh116 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
