On Saturday, Fine Gael Minister of State Peter Burke, who pushed a ‘Yes’ vote, said the government will have to consider how much the views of campaigning NGOs actually “reflect” those of wider society.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin show, Burke addressed the large number of NGOs pushing the rejected ‘Yes’ vote.
“I do think, if you look at the roster of ‘Yes’ campaigners, and those advocates from political parties to NGOs, it’s been quite significant and quite large,” Burke said, adding: “It is a strong blow to the body politic.”
He further stated that the government would need to “look at” how much the views of such campaigning NGOs were “reflective” of wider Irish society.
“I think we need to look and see, in terms of how much some NGOs are reflective of the communities that we live in, because there had been very strong support in some quarters,” he said.
“…the reality is the electorate made a clear and informed decision, and we in government have to listen to that decision.”
Gript notes that state-funded NGOs, which receive taxpayer money, were heavily involved in the ‘Yes’/’Yes’ campaign including, “The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), which receives over 96% of its staffing costs from the government annually.”
Groups advocating for #VoteYesYes tomorrow represent women, men, mams, dads, lone parents, carers, children, students, workers, families, and we’ve been at the forefront of equality for decades ✊ #YourYesYesMatters pic.twitter.com/Ns2D0rfpXj
— Womenscouncilireland (@NWCI) March 7, 2024
Senior political correspondent with Gript Media Ben Scallan shared on X:
Nutshell synopsis of Ireland’s #Referendum2024 from what I can tell:
– In the past year or so the Irish government came under intense pressure from the public over a variety of controversial issues, such as their liberal immigration policies and highly contentious hate speech bill.
– To take the pressure of themselves, they thought “Ireland is a progressive country, and we’ve won progressive referendums in the past. So let’s have a vote to change the Constitutional amendment about the State protecting the rights of mothers to stay at home, and broaden the definition of the family while we’re at it. We’ll say the current text is sexist and outdated, and hold it on International Women’s Day, so it’ll be a nice easy win, and will take the heat off us on the immigration thing.”
– It then proceeded to prove VASTLY more controversial than they had expected, and blew up in their face, with some opponents arguing that it was a sexist attempt to write mothers out of the Constitution, resulting in a landslide defeat. Some working class areas voted ‘No’ to the tune of 96%.
– The media, government, opposition, and NGO sector (who all supported the referendum) are now in a state of catatonic shock and unsure of what to do next exactly.
Did I miss anything?
Nutshell synopsis of Ireland’s #Referendum2024 from what I can tell:
– In the past year or so the Irish government came under intense pressure from the public over a variety of controversial issues, such as their liberal immigration policies and highly contentious hate speech… pic.twitter.com/iWD2BVCvgX
— Ben Scallan (@Ben_Scallan) March 10, 2024
