Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar admitted that the Irish government was defeated in the two referendums on changing the country's constitution.
Varadkar, who said he wanted to remove “very archaic language” from his country's constitution, said it was clear the amendments were “comprehensively defeated with a respectable turnout”.
“It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do that,” he said.
Earlier, Transport Minister Eamonn Ryan said the government “did not convince the public of the case for a 'yes' vote”.
“You have to respect the voice of the people,” Ryan said. “It's a complicated issue, and they're both complicated.”
“I would have preferred to say 'yes, yes' (but) I don't accept that our campaign went wrong.”
Irish Transport Minister Eamonn Ryan. Pic: PA
The Family Amendment proposed expanding the meaning of “family” beyond marriage, to include instead households based on “permanent” relationships.
The care amendment proposed deleting references to the centrality of “women’s life within the home” and “the mother’s duties at home” when providing care, and replacing them with an article that recognizes the importance of family members in general, without specifying them by gender. .
Irish citizens must approve changes to the constitution through a national vote, which happened on Friday, with the results expected on Saturday evening.
The Irish government campaigned for a yes vote on both amendments, saying the changes would get rid of sexist language, recognize family care and provide protection for more families.
But commentators said the proposal to distribute the burden of caring for family members with disabilities to the entire family from women alone has become a dispute over the extent or willingness of the state to support caregivers.
A 'Yes' vote victory was thought possible as opinion polls indicated support for the 'Yes' side in both votes.
Ultimately, a low turnout was reported throughout the day, with some areas understood to have seen less than 30% of registered voters, and voter numbers are believed to have remained lower compared to previous referendums.
Senator Michael McDowell, a former Tánaiste (the second highest-ranking member of the Irish government) and former justice minister, campaigned for a 'no' vote, describing the proposals as an 'ill-advised social experiment' with the constitution.
“I trust the individual voters. They looked at what was in front of them and said 'no,'” he said.
“A lot of them will have a slightly different view on why they voted no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anyone else’s vote, and this is an emphatic rejection of what I believe was ill-advised social experimentation.” For the constitution.
Sinn Féin, which is currently leading in the opinion polls ahead of the next general election, also backed a “Yes, Yes” vote and blamed the government.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “If there is one big message to take away from this, it is that supporting people with disabilities as full and equal citizens and supporting carers is something the government must take seriously.”
