THE CIVIL Partnership Bill is likely to be amended to extend the period of time a couple can cohabit before legal obligations come into force from three to five years, it is expected.
The proposed legislation will provide for the rights and responsibilities of heterosexual and homosexual cohabitants as well as the registration of same-sex civil partners. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern will seek to have the length of time before which legal liabilities in relation to property, maintenance and pensions apply extended to five years, a source said. Opposition parties would welcome such a move.
The Minister’s spokesman said: “The issue of the length of time is one the Minister has discussed with officials in the last number of weeks, and the issue is likely to come up at committee stage.
“The Minister would be anxious consensus would be reached.”
Mr Ahern is also likely to accept an Opposition amendment calling for the law to be renamed. Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan has argued the title should be changed to the Civil Partnership and Cohabitants Bill.
Mr Flanagan said this change would take account of the fact that the proposed legislation is likely to affect large numbers of heterosexual partners who are living together but not married.
“The debate to date has almost exclusively centred around same-sex couples and the registration of their relationships, but important provisions of the Bill deal with regularising the relationship involving tens of thousands of heterosexual couples living together,” Mr Flanagan said.
The Minister agrees a name change “would help public discourse on the rights and duties of both civil partners and cohabitants” and has said he will return to the issue when the Bill reaches the report stage.
Mr Flanagan also said that some couples living together for a relatively short period of time might be “shocked” to learn of the legal implications proposed.
“There hasn’t been public debate or focus on the far-reaching consequences for these couples. It’s important that we debate the length of time. It could well be that a five-year period would be more appropriate.”
Labour would also welcome an extension of the time, a party spokesman said last night.
Mr Ahern wants the Bill, which has begun committee stage, to be passed by the Oireachtas before the summer. The implementation of the civil partnership provisions will be co-ordinated with the finance and social welfare Bills, which are expected to implement changes to taxation and social welfare codes for civil partners.
The Minister has said a publicity campaign will be needed to explain the details of the proposed legislation, and he expects the Family Support Agency to be involved. Mr Ahern has ruled out a so-called “freedom of conscience” amendment, supported by some Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members, to allow people to opt out of “facilitating” same-sex civil unions on conscience grounds.
The Irish Farmers’ Association expressed concern about the Bill last week with president John Bryan warning it could be a “happy hunting ground for lawyers”. Mr Bryan said farmers would worry that “legal claims for the transfer of a property, a lump sum, maintenance payments or a share in pension entitlements or a claim on an estate could arise following the ending of a relationship between a couple living together for as little as three years”.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said the Government was committed to implementing the proposed legislation at an event organised by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network’s (Glen) last month. Glen spokesman Kieran Rose told the event the Bill was “good for gay people” and society.
