Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

While the view of those of us on this side of the House is that the Second Reading of this Bill should be postponed for six months, we are very supportive of the spirit of the Bill. The Tánaiste suggested during Private Members' Business last night that such a postponement would allow a more comprehensive approach to the question of civil partnerships to be adopted. Those who doubt the commitment of this side of the House in that regard will not have to wait very long until they see how serious we are about what we are saying. The Government intends to build on a number of recent developments, including the Law Reform Commission's report of December 2006 and the options paper on domestic partnerships, published in November of that year. I compliment the Labour Party on tabling the Bill before the House. We have waited far too long to give these issues the priority they deserve. While I am not in a position to vote in favour of the legislation on this occasion, I support the spirit of what is being proposed.

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