Results 2,001-2,020 of 4,465 for speaker:Jim Walsh

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I agree with Senator Norris that studies were conducted in the United States and Britain which were not as objective and that the correct methodology may not have been used. However, we should not just consider the position in Sweden, rather it should be part of a process. There should be an independent body with no axe to grind and whose sole interest would be to come up with propositions...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: While I had not intended to contribute further on this amendment, the Minister stated that the complexity of these issues - all sides acknowledge that they are complex - could be addressed by the Executive making proposals and the Oireachtas making decisions on the disposal of these complex matters. If it is suggested that this will be done under the Whip system, the necessary checks and...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I move amendment No. 9 a : In page 16, to delete lines 37 to 40. These amendments go to the core of the motivation that has prompted us to relinquish the Whip of our own party, which has been a difficult decision for all three of us. It goes back to comments we have made on the record over a long period about upholding the constitutional position of marriage, specifically for the reason that...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: On a point of order, we put down these amendments and we did not do so lightly. Senator Mullen has put down amendments which relate to these amendments and he should be given the opportunity to make his point.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I am not happy with the Minister's response and there is no point in saying otherwise. On Second Stage I mentioned issues which motivated us in these amendments. On marriage breakdown, divorce and cohabitation, the graph is moving upwards. There is both a social and an economic cost, about which every Member of the House should have concerns. The amendment would not advance the issue to...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: Senator Norris has raised the issue of suicide many times in the House.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I am sticking to them.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: With respect, it has been the pattern in the House------

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: -----that we respond to the comments made by others on Committee Stage. That is what I am doing.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: It has been suggested there is an administrative difficulty with the amendment. I see no potential difficulty in filling in forms. One should merely have a box to tick indicating whether one is married, divorced, single or in a civil partnership. We have left in the phrases "civil partnership" and "marital status" specifically because we want to retain the phrase "marital status" in the...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I asked a question-----

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: If I am allowed to continue, the Senator will see how it is relevant.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: Absolutely. The removal of the phrase "marital status" is the source of concern, as I indicated to the Minister in writing in December 2008. My specific inquiry concerned the implications of removing that phrase, given that the European Court of Justice had a remit to consider anti-discrimination measures. Therefore, as a result of what we were doing in this Bill, we could be landed in a...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: It relates specifically to a concerns which has motivated us in tabling the amendments before us and show why we feel so strongly about the issue. We are concerned about the implications of removing the phrase "marital status" in the Acts mentioned, particularly the Equal Status Act. I have not received clarification in that respect. My second point relates to the importance of marriage...

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: With respect, I did not suggest that.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I never made that suggestion.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I never said that. What the Senator is stating is a misrepresentation of what I said.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: By all means, let us be absolutely honest. In such circumstances, the Senator should not misrepresent what I said.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: I do not want to be misrepresented. I have had enough of that in respect of this issue from Members on this side and on the other side of the House.

Seanad: Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Jul 2010)

Jim Walsh: The Senator got it wrong; she misunderstood what I said.