Tadgh McNally: Government looks at next steps to take after messy referendum
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The Government will be kicking itself over the coming days over how the referendums were conducted, with the process having been a mess from the very beginning.
In the end, it was not close.
The results were sewn up in the early hours of Saturday morning, as ballot papers were emptied onto tables in count centres across the country. It was obvious that the final result of the twin referendums would be a resounding no-no vote.
When Taoiseach Leo Varadkar first announced the plans to hold the referendum last year, it was expected to take place before the end of 2023.
However, despite promises to have a wording agreed by May, the proposal continued to slip and a planned polling date in November was eventually pushed until last Friday.
Months of delay and a contentious wording itself left the opposition sour on the proposal, with many reluctantly joining the Government in calling for a yes-yes vote. Parties like Sinn Féin, Labour and the Social Democrats wanted to see a stronger wording, which was not forthcoming despite a series of amendments being out forward.
These delays meant there were just three months to ram legislation through the Oireachtas, leaving the Government’s newly appointed Electoral Commission barely any time at all to prepare the ground for what is a complicated series of changes to the Constitution.
Chair of the Electoral Commission, Ms Justice Marie Baker, said as much on last week, saying that four weeks was not enough time to ensure all of the leaflets explaining the referendums were delivered well in advance.
The atmosphere across Leinster House in the immediate run up to the vote was not positive, with politicians from across the political spectrum questioning whether or not the votes – particularly the care amendment – would be passed.
One particularly pessimistic minister said they believed both would flop. They were right in the end.
With some dust having settled over the weekend, the question will now turn to how they respond. The Coalition has already ruled out another go at the matter during their term of office, with Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman saying that it will be for a future government to decide on.
So while we won’t be looking at a Lisbon Treaty-esque rerun of this referendum in the short term, Sinn Féin has reiterated its intention to hold some form of referendum on Article 41.2 – which deals with the woman’s life in the home.
Mary Lou McDonald confirmed as much early on Saturday afternoon,
However, to heckles from far-right agitators, she confirmed that this would not be with the same wording posed by this Government, which she roundly criticised.
But what of carers and people with disabilities? Their voices were heard loud and clear by the Government on Saturday, and pressure is now on to begin providing the supports they require.
Tom Clonan, Independent Senator and a strong advocate for people with disabilities, has now urged the Government to move and ratify all protocols of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
While the Government have committed to this within the Programme for Government, and a new interdepartmental group is examining the proposal, there will be political pressure to act quickly.
The Social Democrats, alongside Mr Clonan, have been calling for this in recent months, with their calls intensifying following the results.
“An obvious, immediate next step is for the Government to ratify the Optional Protocol on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities without any further excuses or delay,” said Holly Cairns, in the immediate aftermath.
In the end, those who fought so hard for a no vote on care must be heard and listened to.