Irish same-sex couples will be able to have civil partnerships for the first time from next year. The Civil Partnership Bill has been passed in Ireland's parliament and is expected to be signed into law in the Irish autumn. It will extend marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples across areas such as property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax. Gay and lesbian couples will be able to register their relationship before a registrar, as long as the partners are over 18 and not involved in any other unions. The bill has no conscience clause, so service providers will not be able to opt-out of civil partnerships because of personal or religious beliefs The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen) has welcomed the progress of the bill through as a historic advance and a further stepping stone towards full equality. Glen spokesman Brian Sheehan says while the legislation is important, there are still key omissions. For example, it does not provide any right for same-sex couples with children to be legally recognised as joint parents. Catholic bishops have come out strongly against the legislation. However, Government ministers recently dismissed claims from them that the bill may be unconstitutional.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 5th July 2010 - 11:21am