March 2024 Irish constitutional referendums

Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

8 March 2024 (2024-03-08)
(The Family) Bill 2023
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 487,564 32.31% No 1,021,546 67.69% Valid votes 1,509,110 98.94% Invalid or blank votes 16,105 1.06% Total votes 1,525,215 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 3,438,548 44.36%
Results by Dáil constituency

Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

8 March 2024 (2024-03-08)
(Care) Bill 2023
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 393,053 26.07% No 1,114,620 73.93% Valid votes 1,507,673 98.85% Invalid or blank votes 17,548 1.15% Total votes 1,525,221 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 3,438,566 44.36%
Results by Dáil constituency

The government of Ireland held two referendums on 8 March 2024 on proposed amendments to the Constitution of Ireland. The Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023 proposed to expand the constitutional definition of family to include durable relationships outside marriage. The Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023 proposed to replace a reference to women's "life within the home" and a constitutional obligation to "endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home” with a gender-neutral article on supporting care within the family.

Of the parties represented in the Dáil, the governing coalition partners Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party called for Yes votes in both referendums, as did opposition parties Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit–Solidarity. Opposition parties Aontú and Independent Ireland called for No votes in both. Civil society groups including the National Women's Council of Ireland, Treoir, Family Carers Ireland, One Family, and the Union of Students in Ireland advocated Yes votes in both referendums, as did Mary McAleese, a former president of Ireland. Groups including the Iona Institute, Family Solidarity, and Lawyers for No—an ad hoc group of barristers led by Senator Michael McDowell—campaigned for No votes in both. Opinion polls taken between early February and early March suggested a significant lead for the Yes campaign in both referendums.

Turnout nationwide was 44.36 percent of registered voters.^[1] Contradicting the opinion polls, voters comprehensively rejected both bills, with 67.69 percent voting No to the proposed Thirty-ninth Amendment on the Family and 73.93 percent voting No to the proposed Fortieth Amendment on Care.^[1][2][3] These were the highest and third-highest percentage votes for No in the history of Irish constitutional referendums.^[4] Of the 39 constituencies, only Dún Laoghaire supported the proposed Thirty-ninth Amendment, and none supported the proposed Fortieth.^[5] The Donegal constituency registered the highest percentage votes for No in both referendums, at 80.21 and 83.97 percent respectively.^[6]