Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has announced that Irish voters may be casting their votes in eight referendums in 2018.
This afternoon, Varadkar addressed the Dáil and informed them of the “indicative timeline” the government has established for numerous referendums.
He said, “Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate.”
He announced that a standalone referendum on the Eighth Amendment will be held in the May or June of 2018.
The Eighth Amendment currently reads, “The state acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right."
As well as the Eighth Amendment referendum, Irish voters will be asked to vote in seven others.
Timetables have been drawn up for the referendums.
It is believed that three referendums will be held at the end of 2018. In the October or November, there will be a referendum on whether Ireland should have directly elected mayors; a referendum on removing Blasphemy from the Constitution, and a referendum on removing the constitution on the role of women in the family home.
Article 41.2 and Article 41.2.2 say, “The State recognises that by her life within the home, a woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavor to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
During the summer of 2019, there will be three more referendums: one on reducing the voting age to 16, another to extend the vote to Irish citizens who live abroad, and a final one which will liberalise Ireland’s divorce laws.
On November 24, 1995, Ireland voted to change the constitution on divorce, which prohibited divorce in the country. 50.28 percent voted in favour, and 49.79 percent voted against changing the legislation.
If the public votes in favour of the referendum on altering Ireland’s divorce laws, it will reduce the amount of time it takes to get a divorce.
The Government has not set specific dates for each referendum yet.
The Taoiseach understands that changing the constitution is a serious matter and wants the public to have plenty of time to think about how they will vote on each individual matter.
“They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in a well-informed public debate,” said the Taoiseach.
The government voted against having a “referendum day” as they believed it would confuse the public who would be voting on numerous issues in a short space of time.
