'Glaring' omission from Bill - FG

Fine Gael justice spokesman Charles Flanagan expressed concern about “the glaring omission of children’’ in the terms of the Civil Partnership Bill which was introduced in the Dáil tonight.

“Such an omission fails to recognise the de facto situation in which an estimated one-third of the 2,090 same-sex cohabiting couples, registered in the 2006 census, have children,’’ said Mr Flanagan.

Welcoming the Bill, Mr Flanagan said that until recently, the State had been characterised by “oppression, patriarchy, dogmatism and a particularly rigid and domineering brand of catholicism’’.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that the absence of official recognition and affirmation for same-sex relationships only helped to reinforce prejudice and inequality in society.

He added that the Bill would substantially change the legal landscape for same-sex couples.

“As well as dealing with many vital and pressing legal difficulties experienced by same-sex couples, including maintenance, pension provision, protection of tenancies, their shared home, and succession, it will at the same time address very practical matters for same-sex partners,’’ Mr Ahern added.

“The Bill ensures that they will always be entitled to visit if one is hospitalised, can be treated as next-of-kin, and on the death of the partner are entitled to notify the death and arrange the funeral.’’

Mr Ahern said that the Bill created for the first time in Irish law a scheme under which same-sex couples could formally declare their allegiance to one another, register their partnership under new provisions in the Civil Registration Act 2004, commit themselves to a range of duties and responsibilities and at the same time be subject under new law to a series of protections in the course of their partnership in the event of a failure of either party to maintain the other and in the event of disputes between them as to ownership of property.

Labour’s Brendan Howlin said that the Bill did not provide for same-sex marriage, nor could it under the current Constitution. So the legislation did not represent true equality.

“How it can it be that extending the rights to marry to more of our citizens, who want to bond themselves with another human being in a loving relationship recognised by law, undermine marriage ?,’’ he added.

Ciaran Cuffe, of the Green party, said the Bill was a disappointment for some gay and lesbians because it did not provide for marriage. But politics was the art of the possible and the Bill was heading in the right direction.

Earlier, the Government was accused of creating a second-class citizenship for same-sex couples by campaigners insisting it didn’t go far enough.

Dr Mark McCarron, of gay marriage campaign Noise, said while the new legislation would grant some important rights to homosexual couples it would not equal civil weddings.

“The Civil Partnership bill will simply function to further marginalise gay and lesbian people, telling them their relationships are lesser than those of heterosexuals,” he said.

“Frankly, civil marriage is a civil right that all citizens enjoy except gay and lesbian people and we believe this is unfair.”

Gay rights organisation Glen also hit out at what it branded a critical omission over the lack of legal support and recognition for children being parented by same-sex couples.

Chairman Kieran Rose said they were strongly urging the Government to bridge that gap during the debate but welcomed the overhaul of the law covering gay partnerships.

“This is a major civil rights reform that will resolve many immediate and pressing issues faced by lesbian and gay couples” he said.

The Equality Authority described the planned laws as an important and historic step forward for civil rights in Ireland but also underlined the lack of recognition for children.

Additional reporting PA