Aontú Deputy Leader Gemma Brolly hails No-No result of family and care referenda

Aontú Deputy Leader, Gemma Brolly has hailed the outcome of the referenda in the South over the weekend as a victory for the party who listened to the concerns of communities.

Mrs Brolly said: "As a party, we are very pleased with the outcome of both referendums, not only does it demonstrate a rejection of a deeply flawed referendum on family and an empty marketing referendum on Care but it it demonstrates how Aontú were the only party listening to the people as they work on the bread and butter issues, willing to stand up and call it as they saw, holding the government to account

“Saturday's results have laid wide open how extremely out of touch with the electorate the major political parties in this country are.

“This referendum represents a lack of trust, not just in the government, but also in Sinn Fein, Labour, the Soc Dems, the Greens and PBP. There is a growing disconnect between the political establishment and the people, and that includes most of the opposition as well.

“Aontú was the only party in the Dáil to actually listen to people and their concerns and this has been reflected in the result. Had the other governmental parties done the same we could have pumped that €23 million into what the people are crying out for - real, tangible support in tackling the bread and butter issues such as health, housing, education, cost of living, childcare, farming.  Instead we have such a criminal waste of money spent on virtue signalling rhetoric.

“The government need to stop with the culture wars and start fixing the services that ordinary people rely on day in and day out."

Aontú representative for Mid Ulster, Noreen McEldowney said the referendum was a massive day for Aontú.

“As the only political Party to oppose these changes this proves that Aontú is the only party to show true representation of the people,” said Mrs McEldowney.

“We seen so much scaremongering from the the parties in the 26, labelling our constitution as sexist and stating that the irish constitution states a woman’s place is in the home. This is complete untrue,” continued Mrs McEldowney. “The Irish constitution enshrines and recognises the vital and significant role women play as mothers and indeed wives. It does not exclude women from any other roles but ensures that any woman who chooses to remain at home is protected by the state.” 

Mrs McEldowney added: “The sheer audacity of the Irish government to think they would force this on the irish people proves they are completely out of touch with the Irish people and have lost the run of themselves.”