Ms Rosemary Hennigan:

We would like to see progress within a year, if possible. Getting agreement to a date for the referendum would be fantastic because it would give us a framework within which to engage the public and agree a form of wording. A referendum within a year would be our preference but we are bearing in mind difficulties around that.

The Deputy also asked if we feel the referendum is urgent; we absolutely do. A good example of why we think it is urgent is the recent legislation banning evictions that came to an end in July. There is now a much narrower restriction in place as long as level 5 is activated. It is only at the highest level of lockdown that there are protections in place to protect people from homelessness. That is the case because of constitutional concerns. It just shows that not only have there been historical Bills and the Deputy mentioned the Oireachtas research briefing, but there is an ongoing issue even in the midst of a public health crisis. There is a real urgency to this and we would like to see it advanced as soon as possible.