Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

This Bill provides for amendments to the taxation Acts that are necessary as a consequence of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, commonly referred to as the civil partnership Act. The legislation provides for the taxation treatment of persons covered by the civil partnership Act and is the fulfilment of a promise in the programme for Government. It can be seen, therefore, as helping to implement the underlying thrust of the civil partnership Act.

The Act established a scheme of registration of civil partnerships for same sex couples together with a range of rights and duties consequent on registration, including in regard to maintenance, shared home, succession and pensions. A civil partnership ends only on the death of a partner or on dissolution of the partnership by a court. The Act also provides that the Minister for Justice and Equality may give legal recognition to civil partnerships which have been registered in other jurisdictions and which are similar in nature to Irish civil partnership registrations.

The Act also created a cohabitant's redress scheme for same sex and opposite sex cohabiting couples, giving protection to an economically dependent party at the end of a long-term cohabiting relationship where the couple has not chosen to marry or to register in a civil partnership. In addition, the Act gave legal recognition to cohabitant agreements enabling same sex and opposite sex cohabitants to regulate their joint financial affairs. The legislation was extensively debated in both Houses of the Oireachtas. It received all-party support and was enacted in July 2010. The necessary amendments to social welfare legislation arising from the civil partnership Act were provided for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010.

This Bill will change the way people in registered civil partnerships are treated for tax purposes. Registered civil partners throughout the country will look to exercise their new taxation entitlements. I assure the House that work has commenced in preparing Revenue local offices to deal with requests and queries from civil partners. The Revenue Commissioners have developed a network of officers nationwide who have been trained on the implications of the new legislation and who are on hand to ensure issues can be dealt with promptly in the Revenue's local offices.

Providing clear and correct information to the public about the impact of new legislation is another important undertaking. It is essential that people are correctly informed of their rights and obligations arising from new legislation. To this end, Revenue has worked closely with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network to ensure the dissemination of information and clarification and to provide a focal point for addressing issues of concerns and answering queries. It behoves every Deputy, all tax practitioners and the media to give the correct information about this Bill to the public and to ensure people are not misled. In general, the changes in this Bill will be effective for the year of assessment, 2011, and subsequent years. Inheritance, gift tax and stamp duty reliefs will apply from 1 January 2011.

I pay tribute to the Revenue Commissioners and the Office of the Attorney General, which worked together to draft the Bill. It was no small task to analyse the entire tax code and to draft a Bill to amend the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999, the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003, the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 and other taxation legislation that requires amendment arising from the enactment of the civil partnership Bill. They have also taken a proactive approach with various lobby groups to help people with the new arrangements.

I am aware that articles appeared in certain newspapers in recent weeks claiming that this Bill would ensure that cohabiting couples would receive the same income tax treatment as married couples or registered civil partners. These articles also estimated enormous costs to the Exchequer as a result of this treatment. They were not correct and they may have confused some people. The newspapers involved were contacted by my Department and the journalists in question were informed of the correct position. The articles were based on the misconception that the taxation changes would give cohabiting couples similar treatment to married couples or those in a recognised civil partnership.

I thank Deputies Michael McGrath, Kelleher and Calleary for welcoming the Bill. I agree with Deputy McGrath that it is a landmark Bill and demonstrates the changes and growth in society over recent years. I also hope, as Deputy Calleary has suggested, that the passing of this Bill will improve Ireland's reputation throughout the world and also assist in our economic promotion. I thank Deputies Doherty and Mattie McGrath both for their praise of the Government in bringing the Bill before the House in such a short time and their general support for the Bill.

I also thank Deputy Catherine Murphy for her support for the Bill. I would like to clarify for the Deputy that the maximum income tax cost of this legislation will be €3 million per 1,000 couples who register for civil partnership. I am grateful to Deputy Buttimer for his contribution to the debate and for his strong support for the Bill. Deputy Barry generally supported the Bill but also raised issues outside its terms which relate to the civil partnership Act. I will ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to reply directly to the Deputy on these issues. I acknowledge the support of Deputies Hannigan and Lyons for the Bill.

This is important legislation. It provides for the necessary taxation changes to the tax code as a consequence of the civil partnership Act of 2010. It is effective for this year and it will help registered civil partners to get on with their lives. I thank all those who contributed to this debate. These contributions are always welcome and they enrich the debate. I look forward to a constructive and informed discussion on Committee Stage.

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