Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will begin with one word that relates and will relate to this. I will comment on the question of family. I find quite extraordinary the idea that marriage is considered valuable only if other people's families are not recognised. That is what is being talked about here. Being very clear, there is no change to the definition of "marriage" in any of what has been proposed. It reminds me a little of the marriage equality referendum campaign, when there were people saying their marriages would be somehow less valuable if gay people were allowed to marry. That is simply not the case. Their marriages are just as valuable as they were. They said that their marriages would be less valuable if we were to recognise a woman and her two children as a family and that we were making their marriages less valuable. I find that extraordinary. They asked, "What is in it for us? What is in it for married people?" One thing that should not be in it for them is the entitlement to have others labelled as not families or to have the 40% of children in this State who are born to people who are not married told, "You were not born into a family." That is a bit of an unreasonable ask. Tax measures are fine. They are probably covered already by the clause, which will still be in the Constitution, which states that the State will protect marriage. That is pretty reasonable. However, the idea that you need others to be marked as "less than" for your marriage to matter I find unacceptable. It is unacceptable in the Constitution now, and I do not believe it is an acceptable argument.