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Civil Partnership Bill 2009

No. 44 of 2009

24 September 2009

SummaryContents

Introduction

Background

Current law

Key Principals of the Bill

Civil Partnerships

Cohabitants

Reaction to the Bill

Comparative legislation

Implementation arrangements

The

Civil Partnership Bill 2009

establishes a new statusrelationship for same-sex couplesand outlines the consequences ofcivil partnerships. It alsointroduces some financialprotections for cohabiting couples.

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No liability is accepted to any person arising out of any reliance on the contents of this paper. Nothing herein constitutes professional advice of any kind. This document contains a general summary of developments and is not complete or definitive. It has been prepared for distribution to Members to aid them in their Parliamentary duties. It is not for general circulation outside the Houses of the Oireachtas. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff.

Bills Digest – Civil Partnership Bill 2009

Introduction

This Bills Digest examines the background to, and the major themes of the

Civil Partnership Bill 2009

including the establishment of civil partnership relationships forsame-sex couples, and the protections given to cohabitants. The Digest looks at similarlegislation in other jurisdictions. It also highlights some of the reactions to the Bill.The Bill will:

•

create a

status relationship

for same-sex couples which is legally recognisedby the State

•

establish a scheme of registration of civil partnerships for same-sex couplestogether with a range of rights and duties following registration to includeshared home protection, and succession and pensions pension rights.

•

allow cohabitants (both opposite and same-sex) to regulate their own financialmatters. It will also provide for a limited redress scheme where a cohabitant isleft economically dependent. This will be done through a presumptive scheme-cohabitants will not have to register their relationships but will automaticallycovered once a qualifying period of time has passed.The Bill does not provide any details on the tax or social welfare implications of theprovisions of the Bill. Separate legislation in the form of Finance and Social WelfareBills is required.

ackground

The Bill was published on the 24

June 2009, almost a year after the Scheme of theBill was first circulated. The Bill closely reflects the Scheme of the Bill in all majorrespects. When introducing the Bill, the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern T.D statedthat :" This Bill also represents a recognition by Government of the many forms ofrelationships in modern society, and an important step very particularly forsame-sex couples, whose relationships have not previously been given legalrecognition. Publication of the Bill implements a commitment in the AgreedProgramme for Government to legislate for Civil Partnerships. The Billprovides very significant rights to civil partners which raises complex legalissues in the context of the special protection which the Constitution

Bills Digest – Civil Partnership Bill 2009

guarantees to marriage and in relation to the equality rights protected byArticle 40.1 of the Constitution. The Bill has been carefully framed to balanceany potential conflict between these two constitutionally guaranteed rights.This balance is achieved by maintaining material distinctions between civilpartnership and marriage, in particular between the rights attaching to both,while at the same time reflecting the equality rights protected by theConstitution."

Marriage

: This is currently the ony legalised intimate relationship recognised bythe State. It is for opposite-sex couples only. Marriage is a legally binding civilcontract and may only be dissolved through the death of one of the couple or bythe court. This Bill does not change the legal nature of marriage.

Civil partnerships

: This Bill will create a new legally binding civil relationshipwhich can only be dissolved through the death of a partner, or by the court. Thisis only open to same-sex couples, as they do not have the option of a civilmarriage.

Cohabitatants

: For the purpose of this Digest and the Civil Partnership Bill,cohabitants are an unmarried couple (either opposite or same-sex) who areliving together in an intimate relationship. Non-marital families are notrecognised by Irish law. This Bill does not create a new status relationship forcohabitants, rather it allows cohabitants to regulate their own financial affairs.

The rise in cohabitation in Ireland

Cohabiting couples have become the fastest growing family unit in the State.An analysis of data from the 2006 census

shows that cohabiting couples account for12 per cent of all family units, compared to 8 per cent in 2002. The number of same-sex cohabiting couples recorded in the 2006 census was 2,090 (or 1.71% of the total

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Publication%20of%20Scheme%20of%20Civil%20Partnership%20Bill

From the Central Statistics Office