Words are important. The words in our Constitution are particularly important. They have real meaning. They speak to our values as a country.

Right now, the words of Article 41 do not match our values.  Those words mean the exclusion of thousands of families from the recognition and protection of the Constitution, solely because those families are not based on marriage. Those words seek to contain women in a singular role. They fail to recognise that care in a family, be it the care of young children, a sibling with a disability, or an elderly parent, and is a role for everyone, irrespective of their gender.

In the two referendums being held on 8 March, we have the opportunity to change those words.  Right now, our Constitution says that a family is based solely on marriage, leaving out thousands of single parents. A Yes vote on March 8 would broaden that to a more inclusive definition, recognising it can be based on marriage but also, other durable relationships.  

This provides a historic opportunity to recognise that the State values the different forms that family takes in our country today. By voting Yes to this question we will be telling those children that their families are cherished just as much as any other.

This vote will also offer people to vote to remove the reference to women’s duties in the home from the Constitution. 

A woman’s place is wherever she wants to be, in the workplace, in education, or in the home. The key is that women choose the roles they play in Irish society, and not just take on one assigned to them by voices from the past.

While this updating of our Constitution is essential, it is also important that we don’t lose sight of the vital role that care and caring relationships play in knitting together the fabric of our society.  It is long past time that we recognise the invaluable contribution that caring – the quiet dedication of so many family members around Ireland - provides to this country.

By voting yes, we will be placing a new article in our Constitutions that puts an obligation on the State to strive – a continuous, progressive commitment – to support that care in the family.  Ultimately, this referendum will offer us another opportunity to move on from the Ireland of 1937, to continue that journey towards becoming a kinder, more inclusive society, one that acknowledges and respects the needs of all our citizens.