Ivana Bacik (Independent)

In this House there were some dissenting voices but we have moved beyond that. It is very clear that the Civil Partnership Act and the necessary amendments following it - including this Finance Bill - will now achieve unanimous support. I have not heard any dissenting voices, which is very important.

I will refer to a couple of other points which may go beyond the direct import of the Bill. As Senator D'Arcy has already gone that way I believe I can follow. This Finance Bill will make the necessary technical changes to ensure equivalent protection and responsibilities for civil partners in the tax code. We are all grateful to Senator Zappone and the MarriagEquality organisation for putting forward some points which may need further review to ensure that as close an equivalence as possible is achieved between civil partnership and marriage in the tax code. I want to make a more general point on the same theme, but it goes somewhat beyond the scheme of this Bill. The Government needs to look beyond the categories of married couples, civil partners and qualified cohabitants. It should review the protections given and the definition of "family" in the Constitution. It is a matter of some concern for many people that although family forms and units well beyond the family based on marriage are recognised in our legislation and in our social welfare and tax codes, the family based on marriage remains the only family that is protected under Article 41 of the Constitution. One of the key Labour Party policies to be incorporated into the programme for Government involves the establishment of a constitutional convention to examine constitutional reform generally. I hope that during the convention process, we will look at how best to protect and celebrate the diverse forms of family life that exist in the State at present. It is clear that the children of gay families deserve protection and recognition. That can be provided for through legislation. We need to look beyond the institution of marriage as a basis or a constitutional foundation for the families we support in our Constitution.

Apart from the big issue, that is examining the constitutional definition of "family", we need to consider other legislative changes needed to protect different forms of family relationship in Ireland. Some glaring gaps in our legislation have been identified but not acted upon. I hope this Government will be able to take action. I refer, for example, to issues relating to children born through surrogacy to gay and straight parents. They currently exist in a serious legal vacuum. This is not an abstract point. When I spoke to a few colleagues, I was interested to learn I am not the only Member who has been getting representations from couples whose children have been born through surrogacy, or are about to have children born through surrogacy. The law is not clear on the status of their children in law, or their status as parents in law. We need to tackle that issue and provide for the regulation of assisted human reproduction in general. The Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction produced an excellent report on the latter question. I know it is outside the Minister of State's brief, but I hope the Minister for Health will move on this during the lifetime of this Government. I know his officials have already been involved in drafting proposals. A predecessor of mine, Dr. Mary Henry, prepared draft legislation when she was a Member of this House.

We can do a great deal during this Government's term of office despite the immense financial constraints under which we are operating, as alluded to by Senator Michael D'Arcy. We can do an immense amount to offer greater protection to different forms of family life. I see this Bill as a stepping stone or staging post on the way to true equality for different family forms. Although I welcome the Bill, it is not enough. We need to introduce further follow-on legislation and make constitutional changes to ensure we give all forms of family life protection that is as strong as possible.