A large majority of mothers want to stay at home with their children under the age of 18 instead of engaging in work outside the home according to the results of research from Amarach.
The results of an opinion poll commissioned by the Iona Institute say that 69% of mothers would prefer to stay at home with their children rather than go out to work if money was no issue.
In addition to this the poll – which surveyed 500 women over the age of 18 – said that, 76% of mothers said that women who work in the home are undervalued by society compared with women who work outside the home with over 70% of mothers saying they do not feel valued by society for their work as mothers.
The Iona Institute says the questions in the poll “were identical” to those used in a widely publicised survey commissioned by Sudocream in 2017, adding that the findings of this latest survey are “extremely similar” to those from the 2017 poll and other polls on the same issue.
Commenting on the survey on behalf of The Iona Institute, Professor Patricia Casey said, “The findings are extremely relevant to the upcoming referendum on carers. Currently, the Constitution acknowledges the importance of mothers, and it says they should not be forced out of the home by economic necessity.”
“We see from this survey and others like it that the vast majority of mothers would prefer to stay at home with their children if they could afford it. This is exactly what the Constitution aims at, even if the State has failed to live up to the promise of the Constitution.” she said.
Prof. Casey continued, “I have been a working mother for most of my adult life. This is what I wanted and Article 41.2 of the Constitution held me back in no way, shape or form. Children’s Minister, Roderic O’Gorman, says ‘a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be’, and that is exactly correct. The trouble is that the policy of this and past Governments has made it almost impossible for most mothers to stay at home with their children if that is what they want.”
She concluded, “If the Government was really on the side of mothers, it would make it easier for them to stay at home with their children if that is their wish, and it is the wish of the vast majority of them, as the Amarach poll tells us. But the Government seems to be on the side of the economy, not mothers.”
“It wants to delete the one reference to mothers from the Constitution, the one reference to the home in the context of mothers, and the one reference to try and protect mothers from being forced out of the home. This is not right.” she said
Calling for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on article 41.2 and the referendum on the family, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said, “we are strongly supporting a yes vote on both proposals which are before the people. We believe that the amendments would mark an important statement of inclusion in modern Ireland and represent an important recognition of a process of change which has been ongoing for up to sixty years.”