Speech by Deputy Norma Foley at the launch of the Fianna Fáil “Vote Yes Yes”referendum campaign

The phase I used on the day the Government announced this referendum is that it is about playing “constitutional catch-up.”

As a party, Fianna Fáil is extremely proud of the 1937 constitution which was introduced by Eamon de Valera. It has rightly endured in so many ways. It was an important step in asserting the sovereignty of the Irish nation and protecting the rights of citizens. 

But it is a living document. It is important to note that those who drafted the 1937 Constitution recognised this fact and made expressed provision in article 46, for a power to amend. In 1937 there was a clear understanding that society could never just, stand still, could never remain static. To do so would undermine the potential of all societies present and future to make their mark.

Some people have claimed that this referendum is about taking the word “woman” out of the constitution. But in fact, it is simply about amending the language in Article 41.2 to reflect the Ireland of today.

It matters to young girls and women how they are portrayed in Bunreacht na hÉireann. As a teacher, I worked with girls and I always told them they had limitless potential to achieve whatever they want to achieve. I knew they would not be held back by any archaic language in the constitution. 

The students I taught are now living, working and raising families in an Ireland where there is a much more equal relationship between men and women. They know that the role of caring in the home for children and other family members can be the job of a man or a woman. It can be part-time or full time. 

But having said all that, words do matter and they matter even more in the constitution. The latest figures from the CSO labour force survey show that 70.5 per cent of women of working age are in full or part-time paid employment. This is the highest level since the series began in 1998. But this government has worked hard to deliver family friendly policies for men and women by cutting childcare fees by 50 per cent and increasing paid parents leave for both parents from two weeks to seven weeks. 

That is why we are proposing to update our constitutional wording to remove any doubt– a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be.

The new wording we are proposing to include is: 

“The State recognises 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."

This amendment will ensure that the state will continue to give constitutional protection to fathers and mothers, guardians and grandparents, who are providing care for children and other family members in the home. It will keep care and compassion at the heart of our constitution, but in a more modern way. 

A separate amendment being put to voters will broaden the definition of the family in the constitution to again better reflect Irish society of today.  If this amendment is passed, the family in the constitution will encompass not just married couples but also unmarried couples, lone parents and their children.

I mentioned at the start that no constitution is ever static. The 1937 Constitution was never meant to be set in stone – its founders made provision for it to be altered according to the will of the people in referenda. Voters will again have the power to update and modernise this living and breathing constitution on March 8th, International Women’s Day. 

I urge people to get out and vote –and to vote Yes.

-ENDS-