Over two-thirds of mothers with children under 18 would prefer to stay at home with their children rather than go out to work if they could afford it, according to a new Amarach Research opinion poll commissioned by the Iona Institute.
When asked the question, “If you had the option (and money was no issue) would you prefer to be a stay-at-home mother?”, 69% of respondents said ‘Yes’, while 22% said ‘No’.
Ten percent said they didn’t know.
Additionally, when asked whether they felt “valued for the work you do as a mother by society,” 71% said ‘Not really or not at all’, while only 29% said ‘somewhat or very much so’.
Commenting on the survey on behalf of the Iona Institute, Professor Patricia Casey said: “The findings are extremely relevant to the upcoming referendum on carers. Currently, the Constitution acknowledges the importance of mothers, and it says they should not be forced out of the home by economic necessity. We see from this survey and others like it that the vast majority of mothers would prefer to stay at home with their children if they could afford it. This is exactly what the Constitution aims at, even if the State has failed to live up to the promise of the Constitution.
“I have been a working mother for most of my adult life. This is what I wanted and Article 41.2 of the Constitution held me back in no way, shape or form. Children’s Minister, Roderic O’Gorman, says ‘a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be’, and that is exactly correct. The trouble is that the policy of this and past Governments has made it almost impossible for most mothers to stay at home with their children if that is what they want,” she said.
Prof. Casey added that if the Government was really on the side of mothers, “it would make it easier for them to stay at home with their children if that is their wish,” but the Government “seems to be on the side of the economy, not mothers”.
The questions were asked of a representative sample of 500 women aged 18 and over.