Ms Catherine Cox:

Family Carers Ireland is part of a coalition with a number of groups, including the National Women's Council of Ireland and One Family. First, we welcome the referendum. We absolutely welcome the removal of the outdated reference to a women's place being in the home and, hopefully, replacing that with wording that recognises, and values, care in the home and in the community. We would also like to see an obligation on the State to adequately resource that care in the community and home. For now we would like the committee's support on actually seeing the wording. We have called for the wording. There is meant to be a 16-week period between when the wording comes out and when the referendum happens for civil society to have an open discussion and debate.

For us, putting reference to care in the home in our Constitution is in itself recognising and putting a value on that care, so it is hugely positive. However, we need to see the wording as soon as possible. We hope that wording will be as close to the wording that came out of the Oireachtas joint committee where, again, there was recognition of care in the home and the community. We hope we will see that as soon as possible, so this committee's support on the issue would be very useful.