Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his time this afternoon. I join everyone in thanking the Labour Senators, especially Senator Bacik, for bringing this short and important Bill before the House and for using their Private Members' time to highlight this issue. I also welcome the work of Senator Norris on this issue because if I recall correctly, he tabled an amendment to the Government's Finance Bill just before Christmas with the same policy intention as this Bill, so it is great to finally see some progress on it.

I first became aware of the issue highlighted by this Bill in January when I received an e-mail from David Parris, a retired Trinity College lecturer, who is here with us today, in which he gave a heartfelt and comprehensive account of his struggle to see his pension entitlements extended to his same-sex partner under his pension plan due to their inability to marry before the age of 60 in the absence of legal civil partnerships or marriage in this country, and the tenacity he showed in challenging this unfair policy by eventually taking his case all the way to the European Court of Justice. He went on to outline how the detailed and clearly argued decision by the court found against the college on all counts and showed that discrimination had taken place on the grounds of age and sexual orientation. Nevertheless, the court decided against him, proclaiming that the married-before-60 rule was not legal under European law. The ordeal that the letter described is a tale of unfair treatment, inequality and discrimination and I am glad we are here today to take the first step in rectifying that inequality.

Other Senators spoke to the incredible change the passage of the marriage referendum in 2015 represents in how Ireland views and treats its LGBT community. It will always be the case when such a significant and transformative change happens so quickly in one day, being the national referendum, that there will follow a period in which the State institutions must work to reflect and incorporate such a change across many public policy areas. It is unfortunate that what is essentially an administrative anomaly was not dealt with in the post-referendum legislative period but I am glad we are dealing with it now.

As I said, this is a short Bill of just two pages but it is great to know that such a short amendment to the Pensions Act 1990 is what is required to give equality in respect of private pension systems to LGBT citizens. This issue speaks to a wider debate we need to have in the Oireachtas on equality-proofing of legislation and budgets across a range of areas, whether it be in terms of gender, sexual orientation, disability or socioeconomic class, as well as the need to ensure we are cognisant of all the potential knock-on effects of the decisions we make in national referenda and in the Oireachtas.

I express my strong support for the Bill and applaud the tenacity of David Parris in pursuing this issue. I again thank to the Labour Senators for tabling this Bill and look forward to seeing the Bill pass all Stages in the House.