Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

The speeches made by Deputies today and last night emphasise the major shift in public opinion that has taken place in recent years. In 1993, when the then Minister for Justice, former Deputy Geoghegan-Quinn, introduced her Bill to decriminalise homosexuality, there was reluctance in many quarters even to talk about the matter, never mind debate it on the floor of the House. It is nice to see that we are becoming more mature in some respects, although I understand that the Opposition is unhappy with the stance being adopted by the Government on the Labour Party Bill.

As Minister of State for equality matters, I welcome the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government to legislate for civil partnerships and I welcome the Government's decision that is reflected in the Government legislative programme, which was published in February last, to prepare a scheme of a Bill.

The Government is committed to putting in place a statutory framework in which same-sex couples can live in a supportive and secure legal environment. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, outlined to the House the fact the Government had dealt with this matter at Cabinet and that he had been given instructions to bring forward the heads of the Bill by the end of March next year. People who doubt the commitment of the Government will not have too long to wait to find out how committed we are to bringing forward this measure.

It is worth noting that in terms of individual rights as opposed to relationship rights, the past two decades mark an unprecedented era of positive change and progress for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. In Ireland change has been particularly rapid and in many areas such as measures to address discrimination the country has been to the forefront internationally. Discrimination against the exclusion of lesbian, gay and bisexual people had already been recognised before the reform of the criminal law on sexual orientation had been included as a category of protection under the Prohibition of Incitement to Racial, Religious or National Hatred Act 1989 and the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act 1993. Discrimination in public service employment on the grounds of sexual orientation or HIV status has also been banned, since 1988, and subsequent significant legislative reform to promote inclusion and equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people has included a number of measures which include the Employment Equality Act 1998 which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of, inter alia, sexual orientation, the Equal Status Act 2000 which extends anti-discrimination protection into the provision of goods, services and accommodation in education, the Refugee Act 1996 which allows the granting of refugee status on the basis of the fear of persecution arising from one's sexual orientation and, more recently, the 2006 amendments to the Parental Leave Act 1998 which allow for the extension of force majeure leave to include provision for same-sex couples — that was a simple measure in many respects, but very effective and it means a great deal to the people who avail of it.

These legislative changes propel Ireland into the forefront internationally in terms of legal protection against discrimination and exclusion and Ireland has also played a central role in having these protections extended throughout the European Union. In 1997 Ireland played a central role in promoting the adoption of Article 13, the anti-discrimination clause of the Treaty of Amsterdam 1997 which includes sexual orientation as a protected ground. On the views that have been expressed here that the Government has been backward or reluctant to come forward with progressive legislation, one will find on looking back on the history of the matter that the opposite is the truth.

Legislation alone will not address all the issues facing lesbian, gay and bisexual people. In 2003 the National Economic and Social Forum published a report entitled Equality Policies for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People: Implementation Issues and the active involvement of representatives of the gay and lesbian community, along with officials and social partner representatives, in the preparation of the report contributed immensely to its quality. The report is being implemented and my Department funds the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network to enable it to employ a full-time officer charged with liaison with the various Departments. As a practical example of what can be achieved within the remit of my Department, the Garda authorities have established a national advisory panel which includes members who represent the gay perspective to assist and inform gardaí. Designated gardaí have received special familiarisation training and have been appointed as liaison officers to both the gay and lesbian communities. A political consensus——

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