Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

In the provisions before us, the succession rights of a civil partner to another civil partner are less protected and vaguer than are those of a married couple in terms of testacy and intestacy. That is the conclusion one reaches. Obviously, this is by design. I believe that is unfortunate and will lead to difficulty in terms of providing, with absolute certainty or clarity, legal advice to people entering into civil partnerships, which is to be regretted.

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