Irish voters want to give Diaspora the vote, approve Gay marriage poll shows

Broad support for legalizing gay marriage ahead of first Constitutional Convention

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

4 Comments

Tweet

Irish citizens approve giving the Irish abroad the vote, gay marriage, and a full review of the Constitution, according to a new poll.

The Ipsos MRBI poll in the Irish Times questioned voters on several of the issues that will be examined by the Constitutional Convention, which will meet for the first time this weekend.

A large majority of 68 percent of those surveyed were in support of allowing Irish citizens abroad to vote in presidential elections, while 17 percent were against.

Read More: Two-thirds of Irish support gay marriage new poll shows

According to the poll, 53 percent are in favor of same sex marriage, with 30 percent saying they would vote against the legalization of same sex marriage in any referendum. Some 17 percent of respondents had no opinion on the matter.

Read More: Two-thirds of Irish support gay marriage new poll shows

At 55 percent, the majority of those polled voted for the abolishment of the Seanad, the upper house of the Irish parliament.

Read More: Lost voices: Irish emigrants would like to vote

The Constitutional Convention will meet for the first time this weekend. It is made up of 100 people, 66 of whom were chosen as a representative sample of the Irish public, along with 33 politicians from political parties on both sides of the border. It will be chaired by Tom Arnold, the CEO of Concern Worldwide.

Explaining the significance of the convention, Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Eamon Gilmore said: “as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Bunreacht na hEireann, the Government has established a process to ensure that our Constitution is equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

“Along with the Chair, each member of the Convention has an important job to do on behalf of Irish society and I look forward to the outcome of their deliberations.”

The MRBI 50th anniversary poll conducted among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over, in face-to-face interviews at 100 locations in all 43 constituencies.

Print

E-mail

Tweet