Dáil debates

Thursday, 1 July 2010

Civil Partnership Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages

 

7:00 pm

Photo of Brendan HowlinBrendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Minister has lost me. I am reading plain English here. Section 169 sets out what is a cohabitant. For the purposes of Part 15, which deals with cohabitation, a cohabitant is one of two adults, whether of the same or the opposite sex, who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship or married to each other or civil partners of each other.

Subsection 169(4) states that "for the purposes of this section, 2 adults are within a prohibited degree of relationship if they would be prohibited from marrying each other in the State". Clearly, same-sex couples are in a prohibited degree of relationship because they cannot marry. Is that not clear to the Minister?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.