Partnerships between same-sex couples should be given civil recognition and rights similar to those of married couples, according to the National Economic and Social Forum.
This is one of the recommendations in a report from the NESF being published today. The report has already been presented to Government.
Partnership rights for same-sex couples were identified by the forum as the issue which could have the most practical and profound impact on equality for gays and lesbians. The forum also acknowledged it as the recommendation most likely to encounter serious barriers.
The main components of partnership rights were identified as the right to nominate a beneficiary for pensions and inheritance purposes, the right to designate a next of kin for medical purposes, the right of a non-EU partner to live and work in Ireland, and the right to nominate a partner as co-parent or guardian of a child.
This last recommendation is likely to prove most controversial. Though it stops short of advocating the right of same-sex couples to adopt, relating rather to a situation in which one party in the relationship is a single parent, international experience shows that this is one of the most sensitive areas for the public.
The forum found that public opinion in Ireland still lags behind the protections offered to gay and lesbian people by the law. The Equal Employment Act and the Equal Status Act outlaw discrimination against gay and lesbian people in employment or in the provision of services, but the NESF report points out that in a recent European Values Survey, over a quarter of Irish people said they would not like to have a homosexual as a neighbour. This is one of the highest figures in the EU.
Another survey showed that less than half of public-sector organisations, including Government Departments, said they had taken steps to promote equality in relation to sexual orientation. The other grounds on which discrimination is outlawed by the legislation all scored more than 60 per cent in terms of action being taken to protect them.
However, last year the Equality Authority drew up a report on discrimination against people on the sexual orientation ground mentioned in the legislation, and made a number of recommendations, including partnership rights. It also recommended action within Government Departments and public bodies to incorporate anti-discrimination measures and urged funding for gay and lesbian organisations.
That report was sent to the National Economic and Social Forum, which considered it in the context of provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty, commitments in the Belfast Agreement to equivalence in human rights protections north and south, and the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. The NESF followed this up with a study of the existing situation, resulting in the present report.
According to legal experts consulted by the NESF team that drew up the report, a constitutional amendment may not be necessary to accord equal status and rights for different partnerships on the same basis as that of married couples.
That view may be supported by the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to respect for private life.