Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House to debate the ground breaking legislation before us, the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2009. I am honoured to make the first contribution on behalf of my party in the Seanad.

As a young law student in UCD in 1992, I recall reading about the Norris case and being astounded at the inequality in our society. I was still in UCD when the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 was introduced by the then Minister for Justice, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. Those were times of change for Irish society and I think Senators would agree we have moved a long way since then.

When people look back on this Bill in 20 years time, the present Minister will be recorded in the annals of history as having been courageous. The fact that every party claims ownership of the Bill shows we are doing the right thing. Every party, including the Labour Party, has had an opportunity to input into the legislation. Senator Norris deserves particular mention for his long struggle for the rights of gay and lesbian people.

I acknowledge the Bill contains lacunae but nobody goes from awful to perfect in one fell swoop. It is important we bring society with us because I do not want to see bigotry against certain factions or minorities. Good leadership has brought society with us thus far.

The Bill gives partners in same sex relationships the right to declare their allegiance to each other and to register their partnerships. They will be subject to and benefit from a range of protections if their relationships end or in the event of the death of a partner. The stability this will bring to same sex couples can only help society by increasing tolerance. It should be celebrated whenever somebody wants to declare love for a partner and a desire to cherish him or her. I do not care what we call such a relationship, and we are calling it a civil partnership in this Bill.

I have often heard young gay people say: "I do not want to be tolerated, I want to be accepted." As a society, we need to move to that position. Enshrining these rights has no consequence for people who are not involved in these partnerships. Nobody else's rights are being diluted or restricted. The widely accepted definition of marriage is not being undermined. In essence, there will be no losers in this Bill, only winners. The ultimate winner is society.

As leaders in society, we need to stamp out hatred and intolerance. Thankfully a long list of legislation over the past 20 years, including the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2004 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, is bringing us towards that goal. A mere 16 years ago, an intolerable situation obtained whereby a young man would avoid announcing he was gay for fear of being criminalised. A once conservative Irish society has moved a great distance in the intervening period but it is important that all strands of the community are brought with us. I declare myself a republican because I believe every person is equal. I do not think we should be mealy mouthed about this because I do not want Animal Farm style equality, where some people are more equal than others.