Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. This is obviously a complicated issue. To try to simplify the law as it stands, under the Criminal Evidence Act 1992, a spouse is not a comparable witness except in circumstances where an offence has been committed against that spouse, a child or a person under 17 years of age. The reason it is of significance to the Oireachtas is we now find ourselves in a society where not everyone gets married. People are in long-standing relationships with partners who, for all intents and purposes, have the same relationship as married people. Alternatively, people are in civil partnerships. It seems to create an anomaly in the law that only individuals in the protection of marriage are afforded a privilege that does not apply to others. I am conscious of what the Minister has said with regard to the advice of the Attorney General in 2010 and the importance of distinguishing the institution of marriage from other institutions. It seems to stand out as an unusual statutory provision when we think of how modern Ireland exists at present. Does the Minister have any proposal on how it could be dealt with to reflect more accurately modern Irish society?

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