A Junior Minister has said he isn't surprised at the rejection of two constitutional amendments as they were 'more of a concept than a definitive change'.
Questions look set to be defeated around Family and Care after low referendum turnout coupled with a large No vote.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has appeared to admit the Government lost, suggesting the case it put to the public 'didn't win'.
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise Dara Calleary told Down To Business he isn't surprised at the apparent result.
"I've seen it in the last 10 days or so, I was engaged in a lot of meetings around it," he said.
"It was a hard referendum to sell.
"The last couple of referendums we've had around marriage equality [and] around the Eighth Amendment there was going to be a very definite outcome and a very definite change.
"This one was harder to envisage what the change would be.
"You were dealing with a lot of scenarios and people were trying to deal with scenarios that had northing to do with the referendum in many cases."
Counting ballot papers in the RDS for the referendum on Family and Care, 9-3-24. Image: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ieDeputy Calleary said a No result doesn't take away the Government's obligations.
"We have obligations and rights and commitments to carers that have to be followed through, to families that families that have to be followed through," he said.
"That won't change.
"It was more of a concept you were selling rather than a definitive change.
"People are very protective of the Constitution, they're very protective of what goes into it.
"People who engaged in it were protective of the language around the Constitution," he added.
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