Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

To be clear, the Green Party agreed to the Saturday sitting. Seanad Éireann's revising function is its most important function because issues of principle are decided upon in Dáil Éireann, by and large, and if the Seanad disagrees on a principle with the Dáil, the Dáil has the power to reverse the principle after 90 days in the case of a Bill other than a money Bill, and if the Seanad recommends the rejection of a principle, it can be rejected by the Dáil. One of its major functions is the work of revising, which is why the Government took the view it would be valuable in the context of a final provision to have a day considering the Bill in detail in the Seanad.

As it happened, it gave my officials an opportunity to go through the whole Bill to see whether there were other matters they wanted to have corrected. While they did not want to have anything corrected, that is not the point. They got the opportunity to do what they would not have otherwise have had the opportunity to do had the Seanad considered all stages on Friday. I am simply explaining the history of why we are sitting on a Saturday. I am also making the point that were we to have sat another week, it might have been possible to bring together the 150 amendments Senator Norris would require to effectuate his intention.

If one accepted the recommendation at face value, all it would do is provide for this wherever it occurred in this Bill, not elsewhere. As one can see from the provisions of the Bill, that would be limited enough. It had been my intention to include legislation in the Bill in regard to the tax treatment of civil partners, but those legislative changes had to be deferred to facilitate the accelerated timeframe for the drafting of the Bill. Again, they are not fully ready yet. Senator Norris raised the issue and I want to give the precise official reply on it, which is as follows. I am advised that the draft legislation has already been largely prepared. As I stated in the Dáil on Tuesday last and in my Second Stage speech in this House, it can and should be dealt with speedily by the new Government. Indeed, it may well be dealt with by the outgoing Government, with agreement after the election from the other parties in order that it could be expedited even further. If the Bill had been undertaken in the normal timescale, the civil partnership provisions would have been included.

I cannot support the recommendation because the relevant changes to this Bill with regard to civil partners will cover income tax, capital gains tax, capital acquisitions tax and stamp duty as well as dealing with any necessary changes needed to all other taxes and duties. It is better to legislate in a comprehensive way for the changes required rather than have piecemeal amendments inserted at this stage to particular parts of the 2011 Bill when we will still have to revisit the whole subject in a comprehensive way.

I want to give the assurance to anyone who is entering civil partnership that it is intended that the legislation, once passed, will apply as respects income tax for the whole of this year and subsequent years, and as respects gift tax, inheritance tax and capital gains tax from 1 January this year.