Miserable failure: “Irish Referendum Jointly Backed by Government and Opposition Ends in Major Setback”
Dublin: The recent referendum in Ireland, proposed jointly by the Irish government and opposition, ended in a significant failure for both sides. Despite differing views within the government regarding the referendum, major opposition parties, including Sinn Féin, supported it. However, the resounding “no” vote from the public indicated a rejection of decisions made without their input.
Both the government and opposition have faced consequences from this defeat. The aftermath may impact proceedings in the Dáil in the near future. However, assigning blame for the coalition’s failure proves difficult, with the Green Party and Minister Gorman feeling unsupported by their colleagues, though they haven’t publicly disclosed this sentiment.
Likewise, the opposition has criticised the government’s handling of the “Yes” campaign, alleging insufficient involvement from opposition parties. However, these grievances remain undisclosed to the public.
Traditionally, such a defeat in a referendum might spell the end for the government. Yet, the opposition finds itself in a peculiar silence.
Opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald has suggested that the government bears responsibility for salvaging its reputation after this defeat. She also announced plans for a referendum to remove the constitutional provision regarding women staying at home, with support from the Social Democrats and the Labour Party.
Dissatisfaction with the government mounts over the leaked legal advice from the Attorney General (AG) concerning the referendum. Some ministers and leaders attribute responsibility for the leak to the government.
AG Rossa Fanning’s advice to Equality Minister Roderic Gorman was published by The Ditch, prompting disappointment but no apology from Minister Gorman.
The AG emphasised the difficulty in predicting court interpretations without clear constitutional and legal guidance. The rejection rates of the Family Amendment (67.7%) and the CARES Amendment (73.9%) underscored the public’s dissatisfaction.
Minister of State Mary Butler held the government accountable for the leak and advocated extending the ban on propaganda to online social media platforms. However, Professor Donach O’Connell of the University of Galway Law Department disagreed with this proposition.
The publication responsible for the leak, The Ditch, declined to apologise, citing the government’s refusal to publish the legal advice initially.
Butler dismissed claims that voters were confused, attributing the failure to counter false propaganda on social media about the referendum’s impact on immigration.
Antu leader Peeder Toibin suggested the government’s defeat stemmed from presenting amendments that lacked public understanding.
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