Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, to the House and thank her in advance for her support for this Bill. I also thank members of the Humanist Association of Ireland who are in the Gallery, in particular, Professor David McConnell, the president of the association, and Mr. Brian Whiteside, who gave great assistance in the preparation of this Bill. It is a proud week for humanism in Ireland. Tomorrow, the presidential inauguration in Dublin Castle will for the first time incorporate a humanist element alongside the traditional religious elements of the ceremony. I believe this amounts to formal recognition of the vital role humanism plays alongside religion and religions as representing an ethical set of values for people throughout Ireland.

I am delighted to propose this Bill to the House on behalf of the Labour Party Senators. I am very grateful to my colleagues on the other side of the House for their indications that it will receive cross-party support, certainly in principle. I know the Sinn Féin Senators are supporting it. Senator Mooney, on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Senators, may have a difficulty with an aspect of the drafting of the Bill, which I will address in a moment, but I think he is supportive of the Bill in principle.

Essentially, the key impact of this technical amending Bill, which seeks to amend the Civil Registration Act 2004, will be to enable members of the Humanist Association of Ireland to be entitled to perform legal civil wedding ceremonies. In other words, if the Bill is passed, for the first time humanists will be able to perform marriages in Ireland legally. This may sound like a small change. Indeed, it is not a particularly radical proposal. I am conscious that this is a time of great economic crisis, difficulty and financial hardship for many people in this country. In that context, it may be seen as a somewhat trivial matter to seek to legislate on during Private Members' time.

Although the Bill is technical, I suggest it is far from trivial for two reasons. First, it will have a significant positive impact on the quality of life of individuals and couples who wish to celebrate their marriage in a humanist ceremony. At present, they cannot celebrate their marriage legally through a humanist ceremony. Second, this change would be in keeping with the traditional role of the Seanad as a forum for bringing forward progressive social reforms. I am proud that this Bill is a creature of the Seanad. It will illustrate how appropriate a legislative forum the Seanad is for having debates on key changes in our society.

This legislation represents a way for us to accommodate difference in our laws. It allows us to show that we are inclusive of those who do not share the faith of the majority and that we respect their values and belief systems just as we respect those of the many people and families who are members of established religions and churches. A young man e-mailed me earlier this week to say this Bill represents another step in the process of making Ireland a more inclusive and pluralist society. The Seanad has played a vital role as the forum where many steps of this nature have been taken in the past. Senator O'Keeffe will describe this in more detail when she seconds this Bill.

I wish to speak about the substance of the Bill and explain its context. I reiterate that it is a short Bill. It seeks to amend three sections of the Civil Registration Act 2004, which regulates the registration of civil marriages. The 2004 Act, among other things, provides for the establishment of a register of solemnisers - those who can legally conduct marriages - and makes provision for a choice of venue for civil marriages. The category of people who may be registered as solemnisers is limited by the current version of section 54(1) of the 2004 Act, which provides that HSE registrars and members of religious bodies are the only people who may celebrate legal marriages. Section 45 of the Act defines a "religious body" as "an organised group of people members of which meet regularly for common religious worship".

The majority of registered solemnisers are members of the well-known churches - the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and so on. The definition I have mentioned covers organisations such as Pagan Federation Ireland and the Spiritualist Union of Ireland. As they have applied for and obtained registration under the Act, their individual members may seek to be entered on the register of solemnisers. Although the definition is relatively broad, it excludes members of the Humanist Association of Ireland, who routinely conduct humanist funeral, naming and wedding ceremonies. This is somewhat anomalous, given the status of the association and the established nature of humanism, about which I will say more in a moment. Although the humanists are an organised group and meet regularly, they do not engage in religious worship and are therefore not covered under the definition. The Bill before the House seeks to address the anomaly whereby only HSE registrars or members of religious bodies may seek to be registered as solemnisers of marriages. It does this by inserting a new, extended definition of "body" in section 45 of the 2004 Act.

Under my proposal, "body" will be defined as "an authority [that reference is to the HSE] or a religious body or a body designated by the Minister". This would confer power on the Minister to designate bodies like the Humanist Association of Ireland - I do not anticipate or envisage that other bodies will seek such designation - as being capable of applying to have their members registered as celebrants of legal marriages. If this amendment is accepted, the chief registrar will continue to have the power to assess the suitability of individual members of any "body", including the Humanist Association of Ireland, which may be designated by the Minister.

When I was drafting this Bill, I initially proposed, as an alternative to delegating power to the Minister, that section 45 should name the Humanist Association of Ireland and define "body" as "an authority or a religious body or the Humanist Association of Ireland". That would have been a more straightforward and simpler way of framing the legislation. It would have meant that bodies other than the Humanist Association of Ireland would not be entitled to apply. It would have overcome the difficulty of delegating a power to the Minister that perhaps should be retained by the Oireachtas. I have had a conversation with Senator Mooney about this drafting issue. I have been advised that naming an organisation in the section might create problems. On that basis, the draft was changed to provide that the Minister could designate a body. On Committee Stage, perhaps we can consider whether a better approach to the designation of bodies can be arrived at. Perhaps it would be best to name the Humanist Association of Ireland in this legislation. I have a very open mind on this. I assure Senators that this drafting point can be dealt with on Committee Stage.

An alternative approach would involve allowing the chief registrar to designate a body, rather than delegating that power to the Minister, while retaining the power of appeal to the Minister in the event that the chief registrar refuses to designate a body. That might be a good approach to take. Perhaps some people might take issue with the delegation of such an important power below the level of Minister. Regardless of the method of drafting that is used - I am fairly agnostic on the matter, if I can use that phrase - it is important to emphasise that in any event, the chief registrar will retain the final filtering power to assess the suitability of the individual members of any body. Perhaps this can be considered on Committee Stage. I look forward to that debate and to hearing the Minister's view on this issue.

I would like to explain why the Humanist Association of Ireland should be entitled to have its members registered as solemnisers of marriage. I have admired the work of the association for a long time. I have an association with it, although I do not think I am a member of it. I broadly agree with the ethical values of humanism. More important, I have attended humanist wedding and funeral ceremonies and have been greatly impressed by the dignity with which they are conducted. Humanism is an ethical philosophy of life, based on a concern for humanity that combines reason with compassion. Many people in Ireland, including me, would broadly describe themselves as having a humanist philosophy, regardless of whether they are members of the association.

The Humanist Association of Ireland evolved in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It is a non-profit company, limited by guarantee without share capital. It has registered charitable status. It is affiliated to the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the European Humanist Federation. I understand that the association has approximately 500 members. In addition, humanists have become something of a voice for the non-religious in Ireland. According to the most recent CSO figures, the non-religious constitute the largest group after Roman Catholics. There are more non-religious than there are members of the Church of Ireland.

Humanists will be included in tomorrow's formal presidential inauguration celebration. They have been included in official State forums on various aspects of social policy for some time. They are represented on the national forum on patronage and pluralism in primary education, which is due to meet in November and to report in December. The Humanist Association of Ireland holds monthly meetings in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. It co-hosts a summer school with the Humanist Association of Northern Ireland. It provides a community for like-minded people and conducts humanist naming, wedding and funeral ceremonies for those who wish to celebrate these milestones in a personal, meaningful but non-religious way.

It is important to point out that humanist wedding ceremonies already have legal status in Scotland, Australia since 1972 and a number of Scandinavian countries. The number of humanist wedding ceremonies in Ireland is growing every year, even though they currently have no legal status. Couples go to the HSE registrar to have their marriage registered legally before having a separate ceremony conducted by a humanist celebrant. Approximately 130 non-legal humanist wedding ceremonies were celebrated in this country last year. Over 150 such ceremonies are likely to be celebrated by the end of this year.

I have been informed by the Humanist Association of Ireland that it has ten accredited celebrants who perform humanist ceremonies. It has a rigorous accreditation process through which potential celebrants must go before they are accredited. For example, applicants must prove to the board of the association that they satisfy the ten required attributes for accreditation, including having a humanist outlook and a compassionate nature. They are judged on appearance, articulation and organisational skills, etc. A relatively rigorous process must be undergone by aspiring celebrants.

I would like to conclude by speaking about the other important context for this Bill, to which Senator O'Keeffe will refer in more detail. The number of couples who wish to celebrate their marriages in Ireland in a non-religious manner is growing. The proportion of couples choosing a non-religious civil wedding ceremony has grown rapidly in Ireland from 6% in 1996 to more than 23% in 2006. The 2011 census figures have not yet been published, so we have not seen them. However, the CSO has projected that next year for the first time, the number of non-religious ceremonies may exceed the number of religious ceremonies. Again, it is a matter of seeking to accommodate what is a growing minority which wishes to celebrate marriage in a non-religious manner.

It is vital this Bill receives support and I hope it will get cross-party support. Given the status of the Humanist Association of Ireland and of Humanism in Ireland, the growing level of support for non-religious wedding ceremonies and the need to ensure our laws are inclusive and reflective of an increasingly pluralist society, I urge colleagues on both sides of the House to support this Bill, which has been put forward by the Labour Party. I commend the Bill to the House.