The President of the Workers Party, Michael Donnelly, has welcomed the overwhelming Yes vote in the Marriage Equality referendum saying it showed that Ireland was ready to embrace further change.
Mr. Donnelly said that he was overjoyed at the strength of the Yes vote which showed Ireland had travelled full-circle from the conservative, inward looking nation it was 30 years ago.
Workers’ Party Dublin Councillor Éilis Ryan said: “To say this result represents a social revolution may be considered a cliché, but it is also an undeniable fact. In addition to representing a sea-change in the attitudes and opinions of the people, the outcome also shows there is a thirst for further social change”.
“I believe that there is a strong popular will now for a complete separation of Church and State, something the Workers Party has been campaigning for over the last four decades. Yesterday, a big majority of the Irish people, young and old, urban and rural, voted to open a window and allow in fresh air. The assumptions about rural conservatism and voter apathy have gone out that window”, Cllr. Ryan.
Cllr. Tynan with Adam McCarthy at Cork referendum count
Meanwhile Cork WP councillor Ted Tynan stated: “The appetite now exists for a timely referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment and to look afresh at many other reactionary laws in this country. In particular, the turnout of young people and working class constituencies shows that people value democracy and are prepared to get out and fight for it”
Cllr. Tynan said that the government would be wrong to see this as a victory of its policies. “This was a referendum where the people took ownership of the issue at an early stage. While government ministers sought the limelight it was ordinary people, and in particular the young people who put life into this campaign and led it from day one”, he said.