Phil Prendergast (Labour)

That will always be an issue. There are legal terms and defined parameters for considering such couples.

Speakers from all sides of the House on our civil union Bill in the Dáil had open reservations about adoption by same sex couples. I know of cases in which one partner in a same sex union was taken seriously ill but there was no recognition of the status of the other partner, which is very sad.

Economic factors were not the only ones that drove people to leave these shores years ago. Many left because their sexual orientation could not be expressed. I acknowledge that we have come some way towards accepting that certain people need a formal legal interpretation of their status. I oppose the amendment.