Serious questions have to be asked of ministers

SERIOUS questions have to be asked of government ministers who told “what they knew to be untrue” ahead of the referenda vote, according to Saoirse Ní Chonarain, the Aontú candidate for Tallaght central in the upcoming local elections.

Aontú was the only political party in the State that advocated for a No/No in the referendum, and their concerns were vindicated by the general public, who voted overwhelmingly against amendments to family and care in the constitution.

Ní Chonarain also says questions need to be asked of the NGO sector who walked in “lockstep” with the Government after being “warned by Minister O’Gorman” to tow the line.

“We are obviously delighted with the outcome of both referenda.

“Ultimately people simply didn’t believe the propositions being put to them by the Government and the so-called ‘opposition,” said Ms Ní Chonarain.

“The leaking of the Attorney General’s advice to Ministers demonstrated that the arguments we in Aontú were putting forward all along were correct – that ‘durable relationships’ was not defined and that the word ‘strive’ in the care referendum could be interpreted in many different ways.

We want to see real progress on issues relating to carers and those they care for, not an empty marketing ploy.

“There are serious questions to answer for Ministers who time and time again went on television and told us what they knew to be untrue.

“There are also now questions to be asked of the NGO sector who walked in lockstep with the Government and parroted each message after being warned by Minister O’Gorman at the start of the campaign to tow the line.

“Aontú simply listened to the public – our candidates for the local and European elections have been on the ground for months in communities, and the frustration about these sideshow referenda when so many other issues required action was clear.

“People are fed up with empty gestures from the establishment parties but for them to all get it so wrong shows a deep disconnect between parties and their electorate.

“For our part, we will continue to work on the ground, listening to voters and not flinching when the next inevitable unified government and opposition proposals come to the fore – that is, when they come back from their junkets for St Patrick’s Day.”

READ MORE –

‘Very disappointed’ by leaders poor show’: Sinead Tighe, a mother and carer to her son who voted Yes/Yes, reflects on the aftermath of the referendums