The chief executive officer of the Equality Authority, Mr Niall Crowley, said yesterday that the amendment to the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill would discriminate against same sex couples in relation to a range of non-statutory schemes including the Free Travel scheme.
The amendment to the Bill, which was brought up in the Dáil yesterday, had the effect of limiting the definition of "a spouse" and "a couple" to a married couple and to a cohabiting couple of the opposite sex.
This related to both statutory and non-statutory schemes administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Mr Crowley expressed concern at the decision of the Department to amend the Bill.
"This marks a significant reversal in the work to create a more equal society for gay and lesbian people," he said.
The amendment was being sought in response to a case supported by the Equality Authority last year. The case was taken in relation to a same sex couple where one partner who had a free travel pass had been refused a free travel pass for his partner.
This refusal was in a context where both partners in married and cohabiting couples of the opposite sex were eligible for the pass once one of the partners became eligible.
Mr Crowley said the case was settled by the Department on foot of legal advice that the refusal was in breach of the Equal Status Act 2000 on the sexual orientation ground.
The early settlement of the case by the Department had reflected a valuable recognition for same sex couples, he said.
"This has now been reversed. The claimant now stands to lose his bus pass," he said.
In amending the Social Welfare legislation, the Department sought to avail of an exemption in the Equal Status Act 2000.
"This exemption allows discrimination by legislation. It means that there is a greater level of obligation on the private sector than on the public sector to combat discrimination against customers from the nine grounds covered by the Equal Status Act," Mr Crowley said.
This was at odds with the reality that public sector services had a significant impact on the quality of life for people across the nine grounds.
Mr Crowley said he hoped that even at this late stage the Department would reconsider its approach to this amendment
"Ultimately these issues need to be resolved by developing partnership rights that would give a legal recognition to same sex couples and that would ensure access to the same rights as heterosexual couples," he said.