Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced on Saturday that constitutional amendments had been rejected in a referendum, although the official results have not yet been released, AFP reports.

The intention of the center-right executive was to change the text of the basic law, developed in 1937 under the historical influence of the Catholic Church on public and private life, in the sense of more modern formulations regarding women and the family,

“It was our responsibility to get the majority to vote yes and we failed,” Varadkar said. Before the vote, he estimated that defeat would mean a “step backwards” for Ireland, sending the message to many that they have no family under the Constitution.

The electorate rejected expanding the concept of family beyond marriage to include so-called “long-term relationships” such as concubines and the children born to them, and eliminating the idea that the role of mothers was to carry out “domestic duties” in families I.

The referendum did not generate much interest: according to estimates published by the Irish press, participation in most of the 39 constituencies was below 50%.

Ireland, where most of its 5.3 million residents are Catholic, legalized same-sex marriage in 2015 and abortion in 2018.

(Agerpress)