The Family and Care Referendums were ‘not a waste of money’, a Fine Gael senator has insisted.

The Irish people returned huge ‘No’ votes in both referendums on Friday – with the care amendment receiving the highest ever ‘No’ vote in Irish history.

In the end, nearly three-in-four people voted against the care amendment, while more than two-in-three rejected the family amendment.

The result has brought the government’s ‘Yes/Yes’ campaign into question – with some warning that the results show the ‘entire political class’ is out of step with the Irish people.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at Dublin Castle for the referendum on Family and Care. 9-3-24. Image: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie

The cost of running the referendums is estimated at over €20 million and on The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward insisted that was money well spent – despite the resounding defeat.

“It's not a waste of money,” he said.

“There's an inherent value in a democratic statement by the people of Ireland.

"There is absolutely never a waste of money when you put a question to the people and they have their say on it.

“It's the first democratic statement this country has had in four years.

“There's no waste of money. There’s an inherent value in allowing people to have their say on what goes or doesn't go as the case may be, into their Constitution and I don't consider that wasteful.”

Dún Laoghaire

Senator Ward’s hometown constituency of Dún Laoghaire was the only one in Ireland to back the family referendum, while not one area backed the care referendum.

The Fine Gael senator noted that it is not the first time Dún Laoghaire has gone its own way.

“Dún Laoghaire has a long history of bucking the national trend and showing its independence and I'm glad that they did,” he said.

“But I think what's more important is that there is a very clear message from the people here in relation to these referendums and that message has been heard loud and clear.”

Confusion

He rejected claims that many people voted ‘No’ because they didn’t understand the question.

“I don't think we can look at this result and say people didn't know what they were voting for,” he said.

“I think that's to disregard the intelligence of the electorate.

“I think what is true is people weren't happy that they knew the consequences of what they were voting for and what might come further down the line and a lot of talk was made of the fact that the judges and the judiciary and the courts would decide what something meant.

“That, of course, is true of every word and term in the Constitution always.”

Tom Clonan speaking to the media at Buswells Hotel, Dublin in 2010. Picture by: James Horan/RollingNews.ie

Also on the show, Senator Tom Clonan, who campaigned strongly against the Care Amendment said the proposal was “toxic to the rights of disabled citizens”.

“If that had gone in, if the people had accepted that and if that had gone into our Constitution […] I think it would have brought us into international disrepute because it flew in the face of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, specifically Article 19, which vindicates the rights of disabled citizens to live independent, autonomous lives away from their parents and family like everybody else does,” he said.

'Ableist'

He said the wording of the amendment was ‘ableist’ – noting that people with disabilities need to be supported to live independent lives.

“Look, you don't want to live at home with your mammy and neither do I,” he said.

“I have three adult children and a teenager and they all want to move out and self-actualise and have independent lives, but in Ireland, unlike other European Union jurisdictions, disabled citizens don't have a legal right to care supports to live independently, to therapies, to surgeries, to intervention.

“So we're out of step and this wording, had it been passed, would have given constitutional expression to that inequality.”

Senator Clonan said he now wants to work with all parties on new legislation that carers and disabled citizens the legal right to a social model of care supports.

He also aims to progress his Disability Rights Bill which he first introduced last summer.