Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and those from the Humanist Association. I commend Senator Bacik on her work in bringing the legislation to this Stage and the Minister and her officials. The Bill is a sign that we are growing up and the position where legal marriages can only be conducted by a HSE registrar or a member of a religious body should be amended. We have to recognise that the number of people seeking civil wedding ceremonies in Ireland has increased, to the extent that this year the Central Statistics Office is predicting an even greater percentage of non-religious wedding ceremonies than religious wedding ceremonies.

While the term "religious body" includes a wide range of religious organisations, such as the Pagan Federation of Ireland and the Spiritualist Union of Ireland, it has excluded the Humanist Association of Ireland. If a couple wants a humanist wedding they must arrange two separate ceremonies, one at a registry office and the other at a venue they have chosen. By contrast, most Christian weddings do not require a separate ceremony because the marriage is legally registered at the church or chapel where the ceremony takes place. These arrangements are discriminatory in that they do not recognise the humanist wedding as legal. They effectively treat non-religious people as second class citizens. Humanists are, therefore, only seeking parity of esteem in which the same legal right should apply to both religious and non-religious ceremonies. I am pleased that the Bill is going through today and when finally sealed, I hope before Christmas, that the position will change. We have to move in line with other countries such as Scotland, Australia and Scandinavia where humanist weddings have legal status. Australia introduced such provisions 40 years ago. As Senator Bacik has pointed out we can be assured that the Humanist Association has a rigorous accreditation process for prospective celebrants, including the ten required attributes to accreditation.

I congratulate Senator Bacik on her hard work and the Minister and her officials. It is a great day for the country.