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People urged to vote in upcoming referendums amid concern over low turnout

All sides in the upcoming referendums on Family and Care have been urging people to vote on Friday amid concern that there could be a low turnout.

Today is the final full day of campaigning ahead of the broadcast moratorium tomorrow.

Members of the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality have urged a Yes vote in both referendums. even though the Government did not accept its suggested wording.

Committee chair and Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said they understood some of the criticisms of the proposed amendments but she believed they were a step in the right direction.

She said: "We understand many people feel it does not go far enough but it is still a step forward. We have waited 87 years for this step forward.

"We can only vote on the text that is before us and we are here today to say we will be voting Yes, Yes."


Watch: How to vote in the upcoming referendums


Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said there is confusion around what the proposed amendments would mean and his party is calling for a No vote in both referendums.

He also criticised a claim from Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys that a Yes vote on the Care amendment would strengthen her hand in pushing for more supports for carers in the budget.

Mr Tóibín said: "The Government is obviously in panic mode when it starts introducing these type of statements.

"There is nothing stopping the Government currently from doing its duty in terms of investing in proper services such as care for families."

Speaking in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, where he is attending the European People's Party congress, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reiterated the Government's call for a Yes vote in the two referendums.

He said that "by voting Yes in the family referendum, we’re saying that all families are equal, regardless of the marital status of parents".

"And by voting yes on care, we're taking out some very old fashioned sexist language about women in our Constitution and, for the first time, recognising family care as something of real value that state has to support".

The Taoiseach said that he believed a No vote would be a "setback for the country".

Meanwhile, Independent TD Mattie McGrath is urging a No vote on both proposals as he said the referendums had been rushed through the Oireachtas with limited scrutiny.

"This is ham-fisted, it's rushed. It hasn't been properly teased out or debated so I'm wondering where it is coming from and who is driving it," Mr McGrath said.

The National Women's Council is urging Yes votes on both amendments.

Director Orla O'Connor said it was really important in order to treat all families equally and to take Article 41.2 out of the Constitution.

Article 41.2 states that "by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved".

"It is sexist and it's outdated and it doesn't reflect women's lives. A woman's place is wherever she wants to be and nothing less is acceptable in our Constitution," said Ms O'Connor.