Public Debate
Following the decriminalisation of "buggery" in 1993, gay rights was not a high-profile issue in Ireland. From 2001 however, Irish media increasingly covered international developments in the same-sex partnerships issue,. This has included coverage of reports on the issue, legal cases taken by gay Irish couples, surrogate parenthood, adoption, extra-legal same-sex unions, blessings and the foreign partnerships of Irish politicians. There was extensive coverage of the 2005 introduction of Civil Partnerships in the UK, which applies to Northern Ireland.
Irish Legislators began to comment publicly from 2003, some tentatively suggesting legislation, and some referring to Catholic teachings. Among the general public, reaction was favourable, with a 2005 online poll showing most respondents seeing some recognition as inevitable and acceptable. More rigorous public polls taken during 2006 showed an increasing majority of the population, up to 80%, supporting the introduction of some partnership rights for gay couples, with a slim majority favouring full marriage. The numbers in favour of gay adoption were lower but less clear.
Some public and religious figures, including bishops in the Catholic Church, and in the Church of Ireland also proposed legal recognition in 2004, but in a form different to marriage.
At the 2002 general election only the manifestos of the Green Party and the Labour Party (Ireland) explicitly referred to the rights of gay couples, but from 2004 all political parties, including the then Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrat government, produced polices or made statements in favour of varying forms of recognition. In 2004 Fine Gael was the first party to launch an explicit policy document supporting civil partnerships.
In the run-up to the 2007 general election, the manifestos of all parties supported Civil Unions for same-sex couples with Sinn Féin and the Green Party supporting full civil marriage. All parties ran advertisements in GCN (Gay Community News) with commitments to same-sex couples.
A survey carried out in 2008 showed that 84% of Irish people supported civil marriage or civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, with 58% (up from 51%) supporting full marriage rights in registry offices. The number who believe gay couples should only be allowed to have civil partnerships fell in the same period, from 33% to 26%. A later The Irish Times online poll, put support for same-sex marriage at 63%, up a further 5%. A survey commissioned by MarriagEquality in February 2009 indicated that 62% of Irish people supported same-sex marriage and would vote in favour of it if a referendum were held.
Existing and new gay organisations such as GLEN, GLUE and Noise began specifically campaigning for recognition in 2006.
A public survey in October 2008 revealed 62% of adults would vote Yes in a referendum to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples. A breakdown of the results shows that support is strongest among younger people and in urban areas. Women were more supportive at 68% compared to 56% of men. There was slightly less support for same-sex couples being given the right to adopt. A total of 58% of those under 50 believe same-sex couples should be able to adopt, falling to 33% among the over-50s. A total of 54% believe the definition of the family unit in the Irish Constitution should be changed to include same-sex families.
In September 2010, an Irish Times/Behaviour Attitudes survey of 1,006 people showed that 67% felt that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. This majority extended across all age groups, with the exception of the over-65s, while 66% of Catholics were in favour of same-sex marriage. Only 25% disagreed that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, opposition that was concentrated among older people and those in rural areas. In terms of same-sex adoption, 46% were in support of it and 38% opposed. However, a majority of females, 18-44 year-olds, and urban dwellers supported the idea. The survey also showed that 91% of people would not think less of someone who came out as homosexual, while 60% felt the recent civil partnership legislation was not an attack on marriage.
A poll in March 2011 (by the Sunday Times/RED C), showed that 73% of people supported allowing same-sex couples marry (with 53% 'agreeing strongly' with the idea), while 60% felt that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.
The most recent poll, in January 2012 (by RED C for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform), showed that 73% of voters supported the idea of same-sex marriages being recognised in the constitution.
Currently the Labour Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Young Fine Gael all support same-sex marriage.
Read more about this topic: Recognition Of Same-sex Unions In The Republic Of Ireland
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