Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 39:

In page 104, to delete lines 1 to 5 and substitute the following:

"200.—The definition of "dependant" in section 47(1) (as substituted by section 1 of the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 1996) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 is amended by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

"(c) a person who was not married to or a civil partner of the deceased but who, until the date of the deceased's death, had been living with the deceased as the deceased's cohabitant within the meaning of section 169 of the Civil Partnership Act 2010 for a continuous period of not less than three years,".".

Section 200 amends section 47(1) of the Civil Liability Act 1961 so that a cohabitant who meets certain criteria is a defendant for the purposes of wrongful death actions. Under the Civil Liability Act 1961, as amended, a person living with someone as husband and wife may sue in the event of that person's wrongful death.

This section implements the Law Reform Commission's recommendation that a cohabitant should be able to sue for damages irrespective of the sexual orientation of the couple concerned so that same sex cohabitants have the same rights as opposite sex cohabitants.

Amendment No. 39 is a technical amendment to delete an extra word "as", however, the Minister has decided also to replace the full section, to remove any potential that it might be interpreted as applying only to opposite sex couples, whereas the intention is to provide that a cohabitant should be able to sue for damages for wrongful death, irrespective or the sexual orientation of the couple concerned.

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