Young people in Ireland have voiced their desire to “pursue a secular Irish State”.That’s according to the ‘Take Charge of Change’ declaration that developed from President Michael D. Higgins’ first presidency seminar ‘Being Young and Irish’.
The ‘Being Young and Irish’ Report captures the views and offers the vision of almost 800 young people on life for the youth in Irish society today, as well as their proposals for the future of the country.
According to the declaration, the vision of the youth for Ireland “is a secular inclusive, multilingual, confident state with excellent and universally accessible education, health and social support systems”.
The declaration also asserts Ireland needs to “make marriage equality and adoption rights a reality”.
This comes in the wake of the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore’s recent call for a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage, “as soon as possible”.
He said that the issue would be one of the first to be addressed by the Constitutional Convention, which is set to meet for the first time next month.
Speaking recently on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Gilmore said marriage for gay people is, “a human right”.
However, the European Court of Human Rights has said countries which do not permit same-sex marriage are not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.