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TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has confirmed that the referendum on the Eighth Amendment will be held in May or June next year.
The Taoiseach said the “stand alone” referendum would follow on from the recommendations of the all-party Oireachtas committee which is to report by Christmas.
Earlier today, one of the committee’s members said that debate on the issue was slow. Fianna Fáil’s Anne Rabbitte said she “would not hold out” that the Christmas deadline would be met.
In addition to the referendum on abortion, seven other referendums which have been well flagged have been given a timeline.
Three referendums are due to be held in late 2018:
Then in June 2019 there will be another three referendums:
Specific dates for each referendum are yet to be set.
“Any amendment to our Constitution requires careful consideration by the people. They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate.
“Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate,” said the Taoiseach.
Referendums omitted
There are a number of referendums omitted from the list.
These include the promised referendums on the establishment of a Unified Patent Court, changes to how the Ceann Comhairle is elected and also a vote on the public ownership of Irish Water.
The Taoiseach confirmed that the government has decided to defer making a decision on the timing of a referendum on Ireland’s participation in the Unified Patent Court and said it is “still considering the holding of a referendum on keeping Irish Water in public ownership”.
Labour spokesperson on water, Jan O’Sullivan, has expressed her surprise at the failure of the government to advance a referendum to ensure that the country’s water infrastructure remains in public ownership.
Labour’s Willie Penrose first proposed such a referendum in his bill published in July 2016.
“A key recommendation of the Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Water was that a referendum would be held to ensure our water infrastructure remains in public ownership.
“It is bizarre that while considering the possible dates for holding votes on future constitutional amendments that no consideration was given to holding a referendum on water infrastructure,” said O’Sullivan.
There is cross party consensus on this issue, and a draft wording has also been discussed at the committee.
“It was reported just a week ago that the Attorney General’s office was examining this issue. The Water Services Bill has been published but we have yet to hear when the Government plans to hold this vote,” she added.
A government spokesperson said there is still an intention to hold a referendum on water ownership, adding that it may well make an appearance in the timeframe given.
The referendums due to be held in October 2018 will coincide with the presidential election, if one is held, said Varadkar.
It is proposed that the June 2019 referendums could be held on the same day as the local and European elections.
Varadkar said the government decided against the previous idea floated of holding a “referendum day” stating that it was thought having so many questions on one day would be confusing.
During Taoiseach’s questions, a number of TDs asked Varadkar about the date in which Pope Francis is due to visit Ireland.
Labour’s Joan Burton argued that a significant time gap should be given between the visit and the referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
Varadkar said he met with religious leaders recently, adding that no date has been set for the visit of the Pope. However, he pointed out the World Meeting of Families is to be held in Ireland from 21-26 August 2018.
He said if there are any suggestions for another date for the referendum of the Eighth Amendment, he would be interested to hear it. He said he would like to hear why such a date might work better. However, he said the earliest date the referendum could be held is in May and June.
Whether the Taoiseach campaigns for each referendum will be made on a “case-by-case” basis, according to a government spokesperson.
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Aldi is showing the way forward. Lidl as well.
Was in Dunnes in Swords this morning! The special offers are few and far between! Prices are definitely creeping up again! And to top it all off, there’s hardly anyone working in it! Can’t wait for the new Lidl store to open!
It’s not surprising, a couple of years ago I was getting a decent weekly shop for €30-€40 now I am paying more like €60 a week. I like to shop around to ensure that Irish businesses get my money but I am beginning to think I should just stick with Lidl or Aldi.
Lisa, if you want to help the economy you should shop for the best deal for you and your family. Ths will force reailers to try and attract your business by reducing prices and maintaining or improving quality.
Lower prices will enable consumers to spread their into other sectors.
Ben while that is true, Tesco is known for forcing farmers to sell their produce at a crazy low price.
While one could suggest why don’t they sell to the highest bidder. Tesco et al dictate price and if the farmer doesn’t sell at the price they have no one else to buy it.
How can a farmer make a profit on the likes of lettuce when it’s being sold for 25cent.
JFK said that Farming was the only industry where people have to buy supplies at consumer prices and sell the finished goods at wholesale prices.
Iceland food store is brilliantly fair cheap on everything.. Lidl is very reasonable too.. When it comes to loyalty I’m sorry but I can only afford the cheapest with all these damn taxes
A few years ago it was almost shameful to be shopping in lidldi now it’s cool to do so!
In Holland, you see Doctor’s stepping out of Lidl in to their Mercs. People off all classes shop there. Here there was the new money snobbery, there they just viewed it as getting food at a reasonable price. A smart thing to do. There is an awful lot of people here who regret the keeping up appearances bolloxology now.
I would say thought that people should try to buy Irish if at all possible, the profits stay here, and they come back to you in wages, services jobs etc. A Euro spent on local produce is worth 2 to the economy.
Excellent point Fagan. I lived in Aus for a year and they really pushed buying Aussie goods.
We should try do the same.
Eddie Hobbs has us all believing everything Irish is a rip off. Having been to Aus and Finland among other countries I can honestly say Ireland Is not a rip off.
It will never be cool.
Agreed a few years ago there were so many people going around as though their $h1t did not stink and would not be seen near a lidl or aldi store, now times are different and reality bites, these large stores do offer good value but not on everything, people should learn to mix n match between local stores and the big multiples and spread their spend around, here in mainland europe small food retailers work alongside larger multiples and offer good value service & quality produce its a win win in relation to the customer, back to basics is the way forward
Try to shop local as much as I can, hate to see so much money leaving the country especially making the German economy stronger and ours getting weaker by the day, just my point of view
I agree. I try and shop in Dunnes as much as possible and I like the fact Dunnes tell you how many Irish goods you buy on their receipt.
where I live there is a Lidl, Supervalu, Tesco, Dunnes, Iceland & Aldi prob inside a square mile. Out of all of them it is Aldi for me. One of the reasons I shop in Aldi is the amount of Irish food, all most all their meat is from quality assured Irish farms, the crisp isle is mostly all Snackrite, which is made by Largo food (Tayto). loads of bread there is Irish, and actually nice unlike Lidl bread (not taking about their bakery) Heaps of Taste awards, and Blas na Eireann awards. really good quality Irish foods at great prices, specially selected sausages taste like superquinn ones. The say they try to stock as much Irish fruit n veg as they can, milk cheese yogurt eggs all Irish the mark all their Irish products with the tri-colour so its very easy to do a completely Irish shop. (I don’t work for Aldi :) )
The decline is due to the increase in cost.
Guys and girls. Prices are going to rise a lot more .
Oil is up. Our food is grown in petro chemicals ,transported in trucks and wrapped in plastics .
On top of that there is increased demand for food worldwide.
Tesco et al will not be able to hide price increases for too long and I have to agree with the above comments. I think the special offers are getting scarce. Especially for actual items you would use.
Not to sound like a broken record here but banks and hedgefunds have a huge part to blame in rising food prices. Morally and ethically wrong to be speculating on food prices but hey whats new.
It’s very morally wrong.
I work in a small fruit and veg shop…probably the only one around for miles because most have closed their doors, each morning we’re at the market, buying the freshest produce so customers are guaranteed high quality food, when in season, we get loads of produce from local growers. The big supermarkets have a few items cheaper, but on the whole, I’d say we’re cheaper in the long run. And everything is totally fresh, unlike supermarket stuff which is in cold storage for weeks. Support your locality, best for everyone.
My husband was made redundant from a wonderful supplier in fruit markets dublin, it was so sad to see a family business close after 60 odd years:-( i hope your fruit and veg shop sees the tough times through! :-)
One would not wonder why people are staying away they are going the same way as the publicans for years when trade fell back they increased their prices to make up for the loss of trade , now I have noticed the supermarkets are increasing prices, a rise of about 16 percent on a lot of items over the last 6 months, I for one leave it on the shelf and when it does not sell it is reduced for a few days to try and get rid of old stock, then is the time to buy, they should know that the customers are on a tight budget this day and age. as we are been robbed left right and centre by the government of the day.
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