Do Irish Mothers Have a Real Choice?

Outdated Clause or Vital Protection?

In March 2024, Ireland held a referendum on removing the Constitution’s reference to a woman’s “duties in the home.” Article 41.2 of the 1937 Constitution famously states that “The State shall… 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” (Referendums on Family and Care - Electoral Commission). The government proposed deleting this language – widely seen as sexist and outdated – and replacing it with a gender-neutral clause recognising the importance of care provided by all family members (2024 Irish constitutional referendums - Wikipedia). All major political parties and many civil society groups campaigned Yes to amend the text (2024 Irish constitutional referendums - Wikipedia), arguing it was a symbolic step toward equality.

However, the public response was stark. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the change: nearly 74% voted No to scrapping the “women in the home” clause (2024 Irish constitutional referendums - Wikipedia). This landslide result – one of the highest No votes in Irish referendum history – meant the constitutional commitment to protect mothers from economic pressure remains intact. For many, the outcome signaled that while the wording may be old-fashioned, the underlying principle of supporting mothers at home still resonates strongly with the electorate.

Dramatic Decline in Stay-at-Home Mothers

The referendum’s context is a society where women’s roles have shifted significantly. New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveal a 60% plunge in the number of women describing themselves as full-time homemakers. In 2010, about 520,500 women reported their status as “engaged in home duties.” By 2024, that figure had fallen to just 208,200 (Key Findings Women in the Labour Market 2023-2024 - Central Statistics Office). This marks a dramatic decline in stay-at-home mothers over little more than a decade.

Over the same period, female employment has climbed to record levels. The CSO report notes that even in the last five years alone (2019–2024), the number of married women in paid employment jumped by 21.5% (Key Findings Women in the Labour Market 2023-2024 - Central Statistics Office). In other words, far more Irish women – including mothers – are now in the workforce, and far fewer remain exclusively in the home. Economists cite multiple reasons for this shift, from the rising cost of living necessitating dual incomes, to changing social norms and greater career opportunities for women. Whatever the cause, the trend is clear: the traditional stay-at-home mother has become far less common in Ireland today than a generation ago.

What Irish Mothers Say They Want

Despite the move toward paid work, many Irish mothers express a strong preference for being at home with their children – if only it were financially feasible. A 2024 Amárach Research poll (commissioned by the Iona Institute) found that 69% of mothers with children under 18 would choose to stay at home to raise their kids if they could afford to do so (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute). This suggests that for a large majority of women, employment is often a financial necessity rather than a preferred choice during their children’s early years.

The survey illuminated mothers’ feelings about the trade-offs between work and home life:

• 69% of mothers would prefer to stay home with their children rather than go out to work, if they could afford it (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute).
• 76% say women who work in the home are undervalued by society compared to women in paid employment (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute).
• Over 70% feel that society does not truly value their work as mothers and homemakers (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute).

These findings, consistent with similar polls in recent years, underscore a notable gap between mothers’ personal aspirations and their economic reality. “A woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be,” Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said – encapsulating the ideal that mothers should be free to choose either career or home without judgment. But the poll results indicate many mothers don’t feel they genuinely have that choice. Instead, they often feel pressure to earn income, and they perceive that the role of a full-time mother is culturally undervalued in modern Ireland.

Policy vs. Promise: Is the State Supporting Choice?

The Irish Constitution’s promise not to force mothers into work by economic necessity is a high bar for policymakers to meet. In practice, government policies have largely focused on enabling mothers to join the workforce – arguably more than enabling them to remain at home. Successive governments have introduced measures like improved parental leave and universal child benefit, but the most significant investments have been in childcare.

Public spending on daycare and early education has soared in recent budgets. For example, Budget 2023 injected an extra €121 million into the new National Childcare Scheme, allowing childcare fees for parents to be cut by about 25% on average (Republic of Ireland Budget 2023 announces increased funding for childcare - Employers For Childcare). The annual state budget for childcare reached €1 billion in 2023 – five years ahead of government targets (Republic of Ireland Budget 2023 announces increased funding for childcare - Employers For Childcare) – reflecting a massive financial commitment to subsidising day-care and crèche facilities. The aim of this spending is to make it easier for parents, especially mothers, to afford childcare and therefore to take up paid employment. Indeed, affordable childcare is often cited by policymakers as key to increasing female labour force participation and giving women “choice” to work.

Critics, however, point out a contradiction: by concentrating support on helping mothers work, the state may be neglecting the Constitution’s call to support those who choose home-making. Apart from a modest tax credit for stay-at-home parents, Ireland offers little direct financial support to mothers (or fathers) who opt to care full-time for their children at home. Professor Patricia Casey of the Iona Institute argues that the State has “failed to live up to the promise of the Constitution” in this regard (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute). Despite Article 41.2’s guarantee, she says, government policy has “made it almost impossible for most mothers to stay at home with their children if that is what they want” (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute). In her view, the push for moms to enter the workforce – driven by economic policy and a booming jobs market – leaves those who would prefer home-making without adequate support or real choice.

Childcare Investment Yields Limited Gains

Interestingly, even on its own terms, the state’s heavy investment in childcare has so far produced only modest increases in mothers’ workforce participation. A recent analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) examined the effects of Ireland’s childcare subsidy schemes on maternal employment. It found that the introduction of generous subsidies in 2019 led to only a slight uptick – about 0.5 of a percentage point – in labour force participation among mothers (Will childcare subsidies increase the labour supply of mothers in Ireland? | ESRI). Most women who wanted to work were likely already doing so, and many others still chose not to enter the workforce despite childcare becoming a bit more affordable.

Even after the major expansion of subsidies in 2023, the ESRI study projects only a minimal impact: roughly a further 1 percentage point increase in mothers joining the labour market (Will childcare subsidies increase the labour supply of mothers in Ireland? | ESRI). By contrast, the subsidies did significantly change how children are cared for – with many families switching from informal care (such as grandparents or unlicensed childminders) to formal childcare centres when fees dropped (Will childcare subsidies increase the labour supply of mothers in Ireland? | ESRI). In short, the state’s spending spree on childcare has eased the cost burden and shifted childcare arrangements, but it has not triggered a large influx of stay-at-home mothers into paid employment. This limited effect suggests that many mothers’ decisions about working or not working hinge on personal and financial factors beyond just childcare costs.

Conclusion: Do Mothers Have a Real Choice?

The fallout from the referendum and the latest data highlight a central question for Irish society: Are mothers truly free to choose between staying at home and pursuing paid work? The constitutional clause protecting mothers at home remains in place – backed by a public vote – but its spirit seems at odds with economic trends. A huge decline in stay-at-home parenting and surveys of mothers themselves both point to finances being a decisive factor in whether women work outside the home. If nearly seven in ten mothers would prefer the home over the workplace given the choice (Vast majority of mothers want to be at home not work says new poll | The Iona Institute), the reality that most of them are now in paid employment suggests that, for many, it isn’t really a free choice at all – it’s a necessity.

Government officials maintain that their policies aim to give women options, by removing barriers to employment and promoting equality. There is no doubt that opportunities for women in the labour market have expanded, and those who want or need to work are being supported through childcare subsidies and other measures. But the flip side is whether equal support is extended to those who would choose full-time caregiving. The evidence so far indicates a mismatch: society extols choice in theory, yet economic and policy realities push mothers in a particular direction. The state’s constitutional duty to ensure no mother is “obliged” to work for economic reasons (Referendums on Family and Care - Electoral Commission) is difficult to reconcile with a system that provides far greater aid for entering the workforce than for opting out of it.

As Ireland digests the referendum result, there are growing calls for a more balanced approach – one that truly values the work of caring for children, whether done for pay or in the home. That could mean new policies, from direct financial supports for stay-at-home parents to workplace flexibility for those balancing both roles. The central outcome of the recent debate is a heightened awareness that mothers want a real choice, not an imposed one. The Constitution may uphold that ideal, but the challenge ahead is turning it into reality, so that “a woman’s place” can indeed be “wherever she wants it to be.”