James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Bunreacht na hÉireann is the bedrock body of law that governs our society. As such, it should reflect our values and be representative of our society. The provisions in the Constitution on the family are not a reflection of the broad range of families and compositions that make up families in daily Irish life. In recent years, we have amended our foundational document to reflect a more modern Ireland, including by enshrining children's rights, removing the offence of blasphemy, allowing the Oireachtas to legislate in respect of pregnancy and permitting marriage equality regardless of gender. The passage of these amendments reflected the desire of the Irish people to have a Constitution that represents a more compassionate, equal and inclusive society. If the public supports the 39th amendment of the Constitution, it will provide for a more inclusive concept of family.

At present, the concept of the family in the Constitution is limited to the marital family. The aim of this amendment is to recognise and afford constitutional status and protection to families beyond the marital family, including cohabiting couples and one-parent families. The amendment would broaden the reference to the constitutionally protected family so that it is not solely limited to the marital family, but also encompasses durable and committed relationships. With the consent of the people, we would insert into Article 41.1.1 the words "whether founded on marriage or other durable relationships". The approach would also require the deletion of the words "on which the family is founded" from Article 41.3.1 to remove the link between the family and marriage in that provision. I want to say clearly that this does not remove the special protection of marriage from the Constitution, rather the amendments would reaffirm the family as the fundamental unit of society in a way that recognises families beyond those based on marriage. The amendments would also reject any discrimination which one-parent families, couples who choose not to marry and others may have felt or faced in the past. The amendment will not affect the wider definition of the family in Article 41 which is referred to as a fundamental unit group of society. From a legal perspective, the protection given to the family under Article 41 strongly limits the State from interfering in the establishment and the internal workings of a family. In other words, the State does not interfere with what might be considered home-based decisions in daily family life and that is the protection that would be extended to a broader cohort of families.

I look forward to discussing the proposed amendment with my constituents and voters around the country. I encourage everyone to register to vote, to visit checktheregister.ie and familiarise themselves with the official documentation as the campaign gets under way in the new year. Referendum campaigns often take on a life of their own and sometimes stray into areas that are not at the core of the decision the Irish people are being asked to make. I hope this campaign will be respectful and remain grounded in factual debate.

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