Constitutional Review
The All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, re-established in December 2002, has been conducting a review of the entire constitution. In October 2004 it invited submissions on the Articles related to the family. Chairman Denis O'Donovan TD stated that it was examining these Articles to ascertain the extent to which they are serving the good of individuals and the community, with a view to deciding whether changes in them would bring about a greater balance between the two. Among the many issues raised by the committee were the definition of the family and the rights of gay couples to marry.
The relevant provisions are Articles 40.3, 41 and 42
- Article 41
- 1° The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage, on which the family is founded, and to protect it against attack.
The committee held oral hearings in Spring 2005 and received an unexpectedly large volume of written submissions with at least 60% being opposed to any constitutional changes to marriage or the family. The final report, the Tenth interim report of the committee, was launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on 24 January 2006. It recommended no change to the constitutional definitions, as it expected such a referendum to fail. It suggested that there should instead be legislation for a civil partnership registration open to same-sex or opposite-sex couples which would confer succession, maintenance and taxation rights. Controversially, it also recommended that the 'presumed' recognition of co-habiting partners by the courts, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission, should also be legislated for, but only for opposite-sex couples. The basis for the limitation was that it would be easy for the courts to determine the validity of an opposite-sex relationship if there were children.
Read more about this topic: Recognition Of Same-sex Unions In The Republic Of Ireland
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