Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Yes, but is there not cloning? The father, in many instances, is not supporting the child. I know the social welfare system is making attempts to change that. A couple that brings a child into the world has responsibilities as well as rights. In many instances, the State is not pursuing matters of this kind as strongly as it should.

I want to refer, briefly, to the Law Reform Commission's report that deals with a number of provisional recommendations, none of which I have difficulty with. Much of what the commission is doing and the process to which the Minister referred will, hopefully, address many of the difficulties this category of people is encountering. As regards the definition of qualified cohabitees — the commission's term — where it refers to unmarried couples, some account must be taken of married people who give up their marital status and end up in second relationships, which beget children.