There should be no change to the definition of the family as outlined in the Constitution, according to the latest report from the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution.
As expected it went on to agree with the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and stated that any amendment to extend the definition of the family would "cause deep and long-lasting division in our society and would not necessarily, if put to a referendum, be passed by a majority."
However, a minority report, from Labour, the Greens and Sinn Féin members of the committee, disagrees with this position.
The report, due to be officially launched this evening, recommends that an additional clause should be added to the Constitution to strengthen the rights of children, and the Constitution should also be amended so that the articles dealing with the role of women in the home apply equally to men.
The committee will also call for a number of legislative changes, aimed at improving the position of cohabiting heterosexual couples, same sex couples, natural or birth fathers, and lone parents.
"The committee recognises that the considerable change in demography, which has seen the appearance of a growing range of families other than the traditional one, means that the Constitution serves our society less well than it formerly did," the All-Party Committee said.
In a lengthy statement issued prior to the report, the committee admits its decision not to seek an extended definition of the family means that cohabiting heterosexual couples, same-sex couples, and lone parents will not have Constitutional protection for their "family life".
However in relation to cohabiting heterosexual couples, the committee recognised that such couples can face the same kinds of problems often faced by married couples, for instance through disagreement, unacceptable behaviour on the part of one of the partners, sickness, separation or death.
The committee will therefore recommend "that legislation be introduced to provide for cohabiting heterosexual couples by either a civil partnership or a presumptive scheme."
In relation to same-sex couples, the committee said the Oireachtas should legislate to provide 'marriage-like' privileges to cohabiting same-sex couples provided they do not exceed those of the family based on marriage.
In relation to children, the committee says all children in the State [should be] treated equally and protected, and should have exactly the same constitutional rights and entitlements "irrespective of whether they were born outside of marriage or not".
"The state should extend all the supports it reasonably can to ensure that the best interests of the child are paramount in matters affecting the child's welfare," it added.
It points out that lone parents are striving to bring up children as best they can, while often subject to harsh economic conditions.
It believes that its proposed new article on children ,will have the effect of enhancing the position of lone parents generally.
"By focusing on the needs of children it should give a more positive character to the attitudes of those working in state agencies when dealing with the issue of lone parents," the committee stated
The committee's decision not to seek an extended definition of the family means that the natural or birth father will not have constitutional rights vis-a-vis his child. Again, however, it believes that its proposed amendment in respect of the rights of children will indirectly improve the legal status of the natural or birth father.
On what the Constitution calls the role of the "Woman in the Home" ,the Committee recommends amendments that will render the relevant Articles gender-neutral.
The Green Party said that the main recommendations of the committee must proceed without delay and called on the Government to hold a referendum to recognise the rights of children in the Constitution.
However, it said the proposals in the area of same-sex relationships do not go far enough to provide equality to same-sex cohabiting couples.
"In 2004 the Law Reform Commission proposed that all intimate unmarried partnerships should be presumed to have formed a civil union after two years where there are children and three where there are no children involved. This is the approach that the Government should adopt," said the Greens' Ciarán Cuffe.
"The contribution that the traditional family makes should be acknowledged," said Labour Party TD Jan O'Sullivan. "However the Constitution should be amended so that it expressly stipulates the right of the State to recognise families not based on marriage and the right of the Oireachtas to legislate for the protection and benefit of members of such families," she added.
Ms O'Sulllivan went on to point out that this "doesn't mean that there's need to redefine marriage", but as long as the non-marital family has no constitutional recognition, "it and its members will have no constitutional rights and any statutory recognition will be provisional and subsidiary."