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IT IS NOW six months since Ministers formally decided to legislate for a range of legal rights for cohabiting heterosexual and same-sex couples, as promised in the programme for government. And while work on drafting sections of the Cohabiting Bill are said to be "well advanced", the commitment to legislate for civil partnership "at the earliest possible date" may be losing traction because of its financial implications. As Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly observed this week: tax and social welfare laws discriminate unfairly against tens of thousands of cohabiting couples, denying them benefits that married couples normally enjoy. Anomalies between social welfare and income tax codes and other forms of discrimination have penalised unmarried partners and become a source of resentment for cohabiting couples.

One-in-eight relationships in this State now involve cohabiting couples. And while in-built prejudices in the taxation and welfare systems are the source of a considerable amount of distress, it is the absence of legal protections and recognition for the status of same-sex couples that is particularly unacceptable. The proposed legislation will not grant same-sex couples the right to marry under the Constitution, but it will provide for the registration of same-sex partnerships. And it will generate a range of marriage-like entitlements for all cohabiting couples. Specifically, it will bring legal certainty to the status of cohabiting agreements and provide a safety net for people living in long-term relationships. Property, succession, social welfare, maintenance, taxation and pension rights will all be addressed.