Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I thank Mr. Moran for being here today. What I am hearing from Mr. Moran is that the 36-month cut-off was set before legislation even existed. It was set before it was legally possible for Mr. Moran to be in a civil partnership. That effectively denied same-sex couples the possibility of qualifying in the first place. Has the Department ever given him a clear explanation as to why that particular window of 36 months was chosen and why it cannot be amended in light of the changes to legal equality standards? Second, if this is left unchanged, surely that risks undermining the whole idea of marriage equality in the first place. The principle of equal treatment should be for everyone. That is what the legislation brought about.