Wednesday

29th Mar 2023

Ireland hopes same-sex vote will inspire others

  • Yes posters in Dublin ahead of the marriage referendum (Photo: William Murphy)

Ireland is hoping that other EU countries will be inspired by its landmark referendum in favour of enshrining same-sex marriage in the country's constitution.

“I hope that Ireland and what we’ve done will trigger a response now in other countries towards taking a more open and more generous approach towards the gay community," Irish agriculture minister, Simon Coveney, told EUobserver.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Coveney led the Yes campaign on behalf of the government.

Ireland, until recently heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, on 22 May became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.

Coveney said the referendum doesn’t mean Irish people aren’t still strong in their faith.

“I don’t see any contradiction between Catholicism and voting Yes. This isn’t about the sacrament of marriage in the eyes of the Church, this is about a civil right”.

He hopes that Ireland’s experience will give other EU administrations the confidence to leave important civil rights decisions up to their people in public votes.

“You can get a response that’s really positive,” he said.

At present, only 10 countries in the EU permit same-sex marriage: Belgium; Denmark; Finland; France; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Portugal; Spain, Sweden; and the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland).

Seven allow civil partnerships, but same-sex marriage campaigners say these aren’t the same as full marriage and degrade the gay community to a second-class status.

Ireland’s strong Yes vote (62%) prompted soul-searching in some countries, particularly in Germany, which was among the first EU states to legalise same-sex civil partnerships (but not marriage) in 2001.

“It will hopefully give countries like Germany and others confidence to actually ask people to make the decision on something as fundamental as this,” said Coveney.

In several EU member states - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - same-sex unions are not legally recognised.

It’s a ban which stems from negative attitudes to homosexuality.

In Poland, for instance, a recent survey found that only 22 percent of respondents thought that being gay is morally acceptable. Twenty six percent didn’t consider it to be a moral issue, while 44 percent said that it’s unacceptable.

Coveney doesn’t think the EU has a role in enforcing the Irish model, however.

“I’m a big believer in countries making their own decisions on very personal issues like this. Whereas I would like to see Ireland encouraging other countries to do as we’ve done, or at least to think about it and debate it, to force them to do it might be a step too far at the moment,” he said.

He noted that Irish citizens’ attitudes evolved just recently.

“I think that if this vote had been taken in Ireland 10 years ago it would have lost 70-30 thirty. Maybe even more”, he said.

Ireland votes Yes on same-sex marriage

Ireland has voted Yes to same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to enshrine marriage equality in its constitution by popular mandate.

Malta legalises same-sex marriage

Once regarded as conservative, the catholic island of 440,000 becomes the latest EU country to allow same sex couples to marry.

Opinion

Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity

From the perspective of international relations, the EU is a rare bird indeed. Theoretically speaking it cannot even exist. The charter of the United Nations, which underlies the current system of global governance, distinguishes between states and organisations of states.

Opinion

Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown

Turkey goes to the polls in May for both a new parliament and new president, after incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided against a post-earthquake postponement. The parliamentary outcome is easy to predict — the presidential one less so.

Latest News

  1. EU approves 2035 phaseout of polluting cars and vans
  2. New measures to shield the EU against money laundering
  3. What does China really want? Perhaps we could try asking
  4. Dear EU, the science is clear: burning wood for energy is bad
  5. Biden's 'democracy summit' poses questions for EU identity
  6. Finnish elections and Hungary's Nato vote in focus This WEEK
  7. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  8. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  6. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us