Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 7, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:"Amendment of section 46(1) of Act of 2004

9 Section 46(1) of the Act of 2004 is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

"(a) (i) notify any registrar in writing in a form for the time being standing approved by an tArd-Chláraitheoir of their intention to marry —

(I) not less than 3 months prior to the date on which the marriage is to be solemnised, or

(II) at any time prior to the date on which the marriage is to be solemnised where the parties to the intended marriage are parties to a subsisting civil partnership with each other and have previously either complied with section 59B(1)(a) in respect of that civil partnership or been exempted from such compliance by order of the Circuit Court or the High Court under section 59B(2),

or

(ii) are granted an exemption from the application of subparagraph (i)(I) under section 47 and give a copy of the court order granting the exemption to any registrar before the date aforesaid,".

I signalled this amendment on Committee Stage. Its purpose is to remove the requirement for civil partners who have registered a civil partnership in Ireland to give three months' notice when seeking to marry one another. The amendment is to reduce any unnecessary administrative burden on civil partners wishing to marry. When the Civil Registration Act 2004 was being debated the purpose of the notice period was explained as giving a couple sufficient time to consider the magnitude of the step they were taking in deciding to marry. In the case of civil partners who have registered a civil partnership here, they will already have complied with an equivalent requirement before registering their civil partnership or received a court exemption from it. In addition, from a purely practical perspective, they will have established their identities for the registrar and provided the evidence that is normally needed by the registrar when establishing whether a couple can marry.

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