Congress notes the recent announcement of the intention to hold a referendum to remove a reference in the Constitution to the woman's place in the home and its subsequent delay by six months after the Dáil's business committee objected to the Government's proposals.
The Government decision to proceed with the deletion of article 41.2 contrasted with the advice of the 2013 Constitutional Convention - 98 per cent of whom voted in favour of amending the wording to render it gender neutral.
It is a source of frustration that the referendum is being delayed and that this misogynistic article remains part of our constitution, said Congress Equality Officer, David Joyce. This Article is offensive and the people should be offered the opportunity to amend it at the earliest opportunity. These attitudes belong to the past and have no place in a modern Ireland. The delay should be used to examine the options for replacing it with language that values both paid and unpaid care work.
