Fidelma Healy Eames to vote No in marriage referendum

Independent Senator Fidelma Healy Eames has said she will vote No in the same sex marriage referendum.

“I am voting No in the referendum after careful deliberation. The union of a man and woman is a unique union in marriage. It is the only union that can create children naturally. Giving every child an equal opportunity to a mother and a father is right and just and is worthy of the constitutional seal,” she said.

Ms Healy Eames said the “union of two men or two women” will “deny a child either a mother or a father”.

She criticised the Yes campaign for saying all concerns in relation to children have been dealt with by the Children and Family Realtionships Act.

“The CFR Act contained some worthwhile provisions relating to children’s and fathers’ rights, but these were hopelessly combined with extremely complex issues like adoption and donor-assisted human reproduction for gay couples. These were issues which should have been addressed separately and calmly, not rushed through in the course of an emotionally-charged referendum campaign,” she said.

In March, the Senator posted a message on Twitter expressing doubt that families could continue celebrating Mother’s Day in the event of the same-sex marriage referendum being passed.

She claimed that in some US states, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day was banned.

She later admitted she made a mistake when sending out the tweet.