Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I welcome this Bill, which obviously follows on from the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act. Ireland is a changing place when a Bill such as this receives support from all parties. That its passage through the Oireachtas is hardly noticed is greatly to be welcomed. However, its passage is noticed strongly by those whom it affects, that is, the people who have experienced deep inequality because of the manner in which they have been treated as citizens. Consequently, from their perspective, this Bill will have a real and important impact because of the financial benefits, but just as importantly because of the issue of equality. During the passage of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, there was some criticism that it was not accompanied by the financial provisions that would deliver on the practical and financial changes. It therefore is important that this Bill proceeds as quickly as possible and is completed fully by the end of this Dáil session.

Clearly, the Bill is aimed at those who have entered registered civil partnerships, irrespective of whether that partnership is between a same-sex or opposite-sex couple. While many will continue to opt for an informal relationship, that is a choice for them to make, rather than being a result of a legal restriction preventing them from making such a choice. This Bill confers new rights and with rights come responsibilities. Therefore, the Bill properly contains provisions to deal with the tax consequences for qualifying cohabitants where the relationship ends and any maintenance obligations that subsequently arise. The shorter time afforded to recognition in cases involving a child or children is therefore welcome.

While the main focus of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act was on same-sex couples, it clearly had a much wider application and I am aware of opposite-sex couples who have availed of it in recent months. According to the background information provided by the Oireachtas Library, there were 2,090 same-sex cohabiting couples recorded in the 2006 census, compared with 1,300 in 2002. While the 2011 census will provide more up-to-date information, even at this point it may be worth considering the kind of questions to be included in the next census. It is only at times like this that it strikes one that these are questions that might be teased out or to consider what questions might be asked in future because the information one gets on the population's profile and on patterns of family formation are important in the context of framing policy responses in the future. Just as Ireland is changing, so are other countries and table 2 in the very useful digest provided by the Oireachtas Library outlines the parts of the world for which foreign registered relationships are recognised. For example eight of the 50 states in the United States are included on this list but what will happen when more states need to be added? How will this be handled? Will further legislation be required or are other possible mechanisms in place?

The protection in the Bill concerning children is welcome, in that equivalent tax treatment is provided for. The key issue for children, which always is much more than a financial matter, is they should be raised in a loving environment, irrespective of the legal status or sexual orientation of their parents. It is helpful that a child who was born before the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act came into force will be recognised and obviously this is provided for in this Bill. This removes a potential point of discrimination for the parent but just as importantly, children feel discrimination when such matters are discussed around them. I was a member of the Commission on the Family that was established on foot of the passage of the divorce legislation. At the time, there was considerable debate on how to define the family but that was rightly resisted by the commission. Instead, it opted to describe what the family should provide, which is a safe, nurturing relationship between its members. Obviously, healthy relationships for children lead to good outcomes for those children as adults and this always is what one should strive for when attempting to build a good society.

Many informal relationships are informal for financial reasons, some of which arise from the social welfare code rather than the tax code and I acknowledge that the programme for Government includes proposals to address some of them. The important point is that when a relationship exists and in particular when children are involved, such a relationship should not be covert. Society should be ordered to ensure there is a solid relationship that should not be interrupted or interfered with by virtue of how our tax and social welfare systems are organised. A newspaper article and the budgetary provisions and impacts outlined in the Oireachtas Library digest indicate there is a potential cost to the State of €100 million arising from the enactment of this legislation. This underpins clearly the argument of those who sought these changes over many years that a sizeable financial penalty existed that comprised obvious discrimination. Consequently, Members should perceive this as a positive development.

For many years, we feared the consequences of legally recognising relationships such as those between same-sex couples. It was only after a pattern began to emerge whereby society was well ahead of the political establishment that attention was drawn to the inequalities when a sufficient number of couples began to cohabit rather than to marry in the case of opposite-sex couples and because of the lack of a legal option for same-sex couples. It became an issue to be recognised in law because people were able to draw attention to the real and practical difficulties they were experiencing. It was almost a reactive rather than a proactive response on the part of the political establishment and I recall some of the arguments that were made around the time of the passage through the Dáil of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act. The House had two bites at the issue because when I was a Deputy between 2005 and 2007, a Private Members' Bill was introduced by the Labour Party that I supported. However, the arguments that I considered to have the greatest impact were those concerning the real and practical difficulties. I obviously refer to those arguments made from a financial perspective and acknowledge the issue of equity is another question of great importance. However, those practical arguments were forceful and powerful because people could understand the difficulties being experienced. One might ask the question in 2011 as to what was all the fuss about, because a great deal of fuss was made on the subject over the years. However, my ability to make that point indicates just how accepted civil partnerships have become even within a short space of time.

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