Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"That Dáil Éireann:

Affirms that any legislative reform in this area must be fully consistent with the provisions of the Constitution and in particular the State's constitutional duty to protect with special care the institution of marriage; and

accepts the need for legislative reform for the recognition of civil partnerships to enable persons who are cohabiting in relationships of mutual dependency to make fair and reasonable provision for each other and for other persons dependent on them and in their dealings with other persons; and

notes that the terms of the Civil Unions Bill 2006 are confined to conjugal relationships between persons of the same sex;

welcomes the Reports of the Working Group on Domestic Partnership chaired by Anne Colley and the Law Reform Commission Report on Rights and Duties of Cohabitants as valuable studies of the options for legislative reform in this area; and

agrees with the Government's stated position that a proposal to amend the Constitution so as to qualify that duty at this time would be unnecessarily divisive and counter-productive; and

notes that the terms of the Civil Unions Bill 2006 as presented appear to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution; and

regards it as prudent to await the determination by the Supreme Court of an appeal now pending before that Court in relation to the issue of recognition by the State of same-sex marriages contracted in foreign jurisdictions before legislating in this area; and

mindful of the desirability of legislating in this area in such a manner as to attract the greatest degree of social consensus; and

accepting that the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform is currently considering an approach based on a comprehensive legislative response to the foregoing issues,

postpones the Second Reading of the Civil Unions Bill 2006 for 6 months.".

I thank Deputy Howlin for introducing this Private Members' Bill for the consideration of the House. The Government is not voting against the Bill. Instead, it is proposing that the House should postpone the Second Reading for six months, with a view to enabling a more comprehensive approach to the question of civil partnerships to be adopted by the House.

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