Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

While I have nothing against equality, I would not take the line that was taken by the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cuffe, when he spoke about matters that are not covered in this Bill. We do not have to refer to issues that are not dealt with in this legislation. I would like to seek clarification from the Minister on foot of my concerns about what I perceive to be anomalies in the Bill before the House. It seems to me, contrary to what media commentators and others have said, that there is some discrimination in the Bill. I would like clarification on my interpretation of the rights that will be conferred on cohabiting couples by Part 15 of the Bill. Perhaps amendments Nos. 1 and 2, which have been accepted by the Minister, will alleviate my concerns. It seems from the definition of "cohabitant" that such couples may be treated differently from married couples. The section I would like the Minister to clarify states:

For the purposes of this Part, a qualified cohabitant means an adult who was in a relationship of cohabitation with another adult and who, immediately before the time that that relationship ended, whether through death or otherwise, was living with the other adult as a couple for a period—

(a) of 2 years or more, in the case where they are the parents of one or more dependent children, and

(b) of 3 years or more, in any other case.

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