Dáil debates
Wednesday, 30 January 2019
Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Civil Partnership Legislation
10:50 am
Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
I note the comments of the President of the Court of Appeal in the context of the judgment. I will not say anything further about it. Referring back to previous debates, it is clear that while there is a need to respect the entitlement to the equality that civil partners enjoy under Article 41 of the Constitution in particular, this must be balanced against the need to respect the special protection that article affords to marriage. The 2010 Bill was carefully framed to ensure a balance in any potential conflict between these two rights.
On the question of amending Part IV of the 1992 Act to extend its provisions to civil partners and former civil partners, it was decided not to proceed along those lines. I do not detect an appetite to revisit it. I am happy to engage further but I stress the importance of the position of the Attorney General at the time. I have not seen any evidence to suggest the legal position has in any way changed.
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