Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this far-reaching and reforming legislation. It is necessary to update our family law based on the social reality of modern family life. We are simply ensuring that our legislation catches up with the modern composition of families. Ultimately, our job is to legislate and provide clarity and certainty, as far as practically possible, for all families regardless of their composition.

The Children's Rights Alliance has provided statistics relating to the composition of modern families. They show the number of children living in diverse family types. There are 308,000 children living with 186,284 lone parents, 104,665 children living with 60,269 unmarried cohabiting couples and 43,887 children living with 29,031 lone fathers. In addition, there are 230 same-sex couples living with children. However, if one were to listen to and heed the media coverage of this legislation, one would swear that it sought to deal only with same-sex couples with children. There are 42,960 people who have divorced and remarried, and of these, 66% of remarried women and 22% of remarried men live in a household with children. It is not known how many children are being cared for by grandparents or other family members, as this is currently not recorded. The figures convey the stark reality of how diverse family composition is now.

While I welcome the Bill, it is disappointing that it has taken so long to be debated in the House, considering the fact that the general scheme was published in January 2014. It is probably understandable, given the turbulence in the Department of Justice and Equality for the last 12 months, that it has taken this length of time.

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