DUBLIN, Ireland — As the Constitutional Convention met in Dublin to discuss reforms to the Irish Republic’s constitution this past weekend, a 2012 year end poll showed increased support for the issue of same-sex marriage, one of the legal reforms being discussed by delegates.
The poll, carried out by Millward Brown Lansdowne for the Irish LGBT Equality Rights advocacy group Marriage Equality, found that 75 percent of Irish voters in this predominantly Roman Catholic nation would vote yes in a referendum to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples – an increase of 12 percent from previous research in 2008.
Marriage equality has been placed on the official agenda for Ireland’s Constitutional Convention discussions scheduled for mid-April.
“Public support for marriage equality has increased year on year,” said Moninne Griffith, Director of Marriage Equality Ireland, in a statement Monday. “When we began our work in 2006, 51 percent of people believed same sex couples should be allowed to marry. That figure has grown 25 percent in just 6 years, to a full three quarters of the population today.”
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According to the poll, 2 out of 3 people agree Ireland’s reputation as a modern society will be strengthened by allowing same sex couples to have civil marriages, and 3 out of 5 people agreed that allowing same sex couples to have civil marriages will promote a more tolerant environment in Ireland.
