A married lesbian couple have today criticised the Government over its plans for civil partnership and renewed their calls to have the same legal rights as those in same-sex marriages.
Speaking from Brussels - where they are attending the first expert EU meeting on the recognition of married same-sex couples - Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan said the Government's "lack of clarity" on partnership rights for same-sex couples would indefinitely prolong discrimination against gay and lesbian people in Ireland.
Dr Anne Louise Gilligan and Dr Katherine Zappone
The couple, who married in Canada four years ago, are taking a case to the Supreme Court in Ireland to have their union recognised legally. Dr Zappone and Dr Gilligan maintain that the only equal partnership for gay and lesbian couples is civil marriage.
"The Irish Government's recent talk about wanting to ensure that all citizens are equal in their partnership rights is disingenuous," Dr Gilligan said. "Civil partnership, as proposed, is not equal. To call it so is wrong," she added.
They believe civil union or civil partnership may suit the needs of some gay and lesbian couples, as it would the needs of some opposite sex couples. However, civil partnership for same-sex couples is not equal to the right of heterosexual couples to marry.
The couple said the Government's claim - that civil marriage of same-sex couples was unconstitutional - was premature given the fact that there is a case before the Supreme Court, the date of which has not yet been announced.
Dr Zappone and Dr Gilligan also argue that numerous European countries recognise same-sex marriage as the only partnership option of equality for same-sex couples.
"Ireland now has an ideal opportunity to join other European countries like Spain , Belgium and the Netherlands to provide for equality, no ands, ifs or buts," Dr Gilligan said.
Last week the Government voted down a Labour Party Bill on civil unions but proposed an alternative by the end of next March.
The doctors joined couples from across Europe today seeking recognition of their marriages. Lawyers, academic experts and representatives of the European Commission will also attend the expert meeting.