Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to share some time with Senator Sherlock, if that is okay. I welcome the Minister to the House today to this very important debate on the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023. I will be concentrating much of my contribution on my experience of dealing with cohabiting couples and our own Labour Party Bill, the Social Welfare (Surviving Cohabitant's Pension) Bill 2021 and of course, as has already been said by colleagues, the landmark ruling we have just received from the Supreme Court in what is being referred to as the Johnny O'Meara case. We must recognise the treatment and legacy within our State of families who simply did not conform to the constitutional model of a family based on marriage. It is the opinion of many that the current definition of Article 41 in no way reflects the current and wonderful diversity of family life in Ireland. Indeed, it is my experience that such a restrictive definition has not reflected family life in Ireland for a long time. We therefore feel it is time to amend the definition of family, just as it is time to amend the language used in Article 42.2. I will not get a chance to contribute to that debate later but I welcome the fact we are getting rid of the sexist and outdated language contained within that article. I welcome also the support of Family Carers Ireland and Treoir for that amendment and the proposed recognition of care and caregivers in our Constitution for the first time. We have debated in this House on numerous occasions the value of caregivers in the State.

Getting back to the Bill before us, Labour Party colleagues introduced amendments in the Dáil on how we might go about amending this language, and we have also tabled amendments to be debated on the next Stage in this House. I acknowledge the work of my party leader, Deputy Bacik, as Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, and that of all the members of that committee. The Minister will be aware the committee devised the wording that reflected the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality, chaired by Dr. Catherine Day. He will also be aware of the continued calls for a referendum in 2024 and the urgent need for such a referendum for so many, including families such as that I mentioned, the O'Meara family.

I want to speak to the historic ruling of the Supreme Court today. It would seem from listening to the solicitor involved in that case on RTÉ's "News at One" that the Supreme Court judges based their judgment on Article 40.1 in the Constitution, on equality, providing that all citizens shall be held equal before the law, rather than on the definition of the family. Of course, while we must wait for the detail of the judgment to emerge, I thank Johnny O'Meara for taking this case. Likewise, I thank Treoir and FLAC for their involvement. This is an important moment in our State's history and we must now call on the Minister with responsibility to immediately act on the judgment. Since we in the Labour Party introduced our Bill, we have been contacted by many families in the same position as the O'Meara family. Indeed, when we used our Private Members' time last October to bring forward our surviving cohabitant’s pension Bill, the Government did not oppose it but instead sought time to consider what was referred to by the Minister on the night as the many complex matters that would need to be addressed before the Bill proceeded. On the night, the Government deferred the Bill for 12 months to allow for it to be thoroughly assessed in the wider legal context and in light of the impending recommendations of the Joint Committee on Gender Equality.

The judgment today, however, must be reflected on by the Government and acted on as quickly as possible to reflect the concerns, needs and rights of so many families who have come forward to us and are, I am sure, awaiting an update on the matter. Mr. O'Meara's case, while tragic, mirrors many more we have heard. I wish him and his three children well and thank him for engaging at length with the Labour Party, and in particular Deputy Kelly, along with the Labour Party Senators in preparing the Bill we have brought forward. I acknowledge on this historic occasion and important day his late partner, Michelle Batey, who sadly died from cancer. The couple had been together for more than 20 years. Like 150,000 other couples in Ireland, they were cohabiting and had not married. It would seem, however, from early reflection and commentary on the judgment today that what Mr. Justice Heslin said about the case before the Supreme Court hinging on a legitimate decision made by the State to support not families but those who had made the choice to enter the marriage contract remains the case, as I have said. We must act, therefore, through this referendum to adequately change the Constitution to reflect the true diversity of family life in Ireland.

One of the main questions I was asked on the introduction of our Bill addressing the issues of cohabiting couples related to what constituted a couple without a State-recognised marriage contract. The wording we have been presented with by the Government speaks of durable relationships and the Minister earlier went into some detail on that issue, but the question remains as to what durability is and what defines a durable relationship between adults. Is it one that exists for five, ten or 20 years? Is it the same as a commitment or as an enduring relationship? Is there a difference?

The definition must include comfort for cohabiting couples and those both with and without children, and I again take on board what the Minister said earlier. It must address issues for disabled people and the area of kinship carers. We look forward to further debate on the next Stage in this House.