Ireland: 76% of voters support equal marriage

The first poll since the announcement of a same-sex marriage referendum has found that 76% of Irish voters support the legislation.

Ireland’s cabinet this week formally agreed to hold a referendum on equal marriage in 2015.

The Red C poll for Paddy Power found that 18% opposed the proposal with 6.5% were undecided. A random sample of 1,004 adults were interviewed by telephone between 4-6 November for the survey.

Supporters of the centre-right conservative party Fianna Fáil are most likely to oppose same-sex marriage with 29% saying they will not back it.

Support is high among women, with 85% supporting same-sex marriage, as well as people aged under 44 (87%), Labour supporters (96%) and Dubliners (83%).

Earlier this year, a poll commissioned by Marriage Equality Ireland showed that the percentage of people in support of equal marriage had risen by 12%, since 2008, and in 2012 was 75%.

Ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Eamon Gilmore, told reporters: “It is important that we win this referendum”.

In April, Ireland’s Constitutional Convention recommended that Ireland’s constitution be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry and have the same legal rights as the rest of the population.

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