Tánaiste Micheál Martin has defended the appointment of a male Minister of State to lead Fianna Fáil’s campaign for Yes votes in the referendums on family and care.
Fine Gael and the Green Party have appointed women to lead their respective campaigns in advance of the votes on March 8th.
A Yes vote in the referendum on care would mean the language around women’s duties in the home deleted from the Constitution.
Asked by reporters about his appointment of Thomas Byrne as director of elections for the campaign, Mr Martin said: “I don’t propose to exclude men from any further deliberations in public life.”
He said there is “great confidence” in Mr Byrne, who has a “strong legal background” and is a good campaigner and communicator.
Minister for Education Norma Foley also defended Mr Byrne’s appointment, saying: “I have every confidence in his ability to run this campaign. I think it’s rather short-sighted to be hung up on who’s running what.”
Senator Fiona O’Loughlin said Mr Martin “had to consider the best person for the job” and she had “no doubt” that Mr Byrne came with the credentials needed. She said she is “really looking forward to working with him as indeed are all of my colleagues, female and male”.
Mr Byrne promised Fianna Fáil would run a “robust” campaign.
“It’s vitally important that the Constitution is changed in the manner in which the Government has proposed and the party will be fighting hard to do this,” he said.
Regarding the second proposal to be voted on, Ms O’Loughlin said that “expanding the definition of family is hugely important and absolutely essential in our view”.
“So too is valuing care and recognising that a woman’s place is not just in the home. It’s in the workplace,” she added. “It’s in the board room, it’s on our local councils, it’s in the Dáil, it’s in the Seanad.”
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh last week suggested Fianna Fáil’s current European election ticket — with three men selected to run so far — is “male, stale and pale”.
Asked if it is a fair characterisation, Mr Martin replied “not at all”. He said he “hadn’t heard from Maria for a while” and such comments are made in electoral contests.
“Maybe Maria should be careful what she wishes for. The Fianna Fáil ticket isn’t complete,” he added.
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There has been speculation that Senator Lisa Chambers could be added to the ticket in Midlands-North West, where Fianna Fáil has selected Barry Cowen TD to run. Mr Martin said decisions on finalising the party’s tickets for the European elections will be made within the next fortnight.
Some 25 per cent of Fianna Fáil’s selected local election candidates are women.
“We want it to be higher, but again, we have a number of people to add to a variety of local electoral tickets, they’re not complete,” said Mr Martin.
On the upcoming referendums, the party leader said: “Removing the archaic and inappropriate reference to women in the current version of the Constitution is an important signal and it’s something on which there has been widespread agreement” for decades.
“Providing a more inclusive wording for families is also a reflection of societal reality and it shows respect for diverse family units,” he added.
“Marriage is a wonderful institution which provides great support but it does not and should not be the sole means of defining what is and what is not a family.”
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