Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom were recognised that day. Same-sex marriage continues to be unrecognised in Northern Ireland, following several votes against it and one vote in favour of it by the Northern Ireland Assembly. Same-sex marriages are recognised as civil partnerships. Legislation to allow for the recognition of same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland has been debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly five times since 2012. On four of those occasions, only a minority of assembly members voted in favour of same-sex marriage, though the most recent vote on the issue in November 2015 saw a majority of MLA's vote in favour of same-sex marriage.
Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland is to provide unbiased information on referendums in Ireland. On 16 May, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan caused controversy with a comment of Greek "holidays" and "feta cheese" at a breakfast briefing with Bloomberg news agency. Noonan said these were the only links between Ireland and Greece. On 17 May, Taoiseach Enda Kenny was heckled and booed by opponents of the compact in Galway as he attended a breakfast briefing. Later that day, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton let slip on radio the possibility of there being a second referendum if the Irish people voted "No". Thirtieth