Ms Carly Bailey:

It would be even wider than those parenting alone. As it currently stands, the difficulty is some members of the family are covered and protected while others are not. That is where the discrepancies lie. It then becomes quite confusing in terms of horizontal and vertical, and the relationships there are. Some families are protected and others are not. Non-married families are not protected by the Constitution. That is why we are suggesting we would like to see the membership of a family definition considered, looked at and brought up to date. As I said, it could include non-resident parents, it could be across the board, it could be somebody who is parenting alone, or somebody who is in a new relationship or a blended family relationship. All of these different types of families exist in Ireland. It is a reality. It is every day and in every county and community. It affects people throughout the country. We even see from the census figures for the number of cohabiting couples who are not married and, similarly, those with children who are not married, that it is part and parcel of how society is these days.

We also have an issue around care, what that looks like and who that is about. All these issues have been up for discussion in more recent times. Outside the family carer, we suggest the definition needs to extend to those providing care who are not necessarily family members. They could be neighbours or somebody from a care company that is providing care services. A lot of people are left out. Some people are covered and others are not. We do not have constitutional protection for unmarried families. All that considered, it is very important that they be included. Added to that there is, for example, the housing ground we currently have under the Equal Status Acts, and trying to prove the level of discrimination faced by people who are looking for rented accommodation. It is great that ground is there but it is also very difficult to put across to somebody that what happened to him or her was discriminatory, or what happened to that person was discrimination, because discrimination can happen from no action as opposed to some action, if that makes sense. If you are not responded to by an estate agent after you told them you are a lone parent in receipt of HAP who is looking for accommodation, it is illegal. The estate agent is not supposed to do that, but he or she can just say hundreds of people applied and the estate agent just did not get to that person. It is so difficult. Did Ms Bayliss wish to add something?