The Minister for Justice has warned that the State may not be able to afford to extend tax credits and welfare entitlements for married couples to unmarried cohabitants.
"Whether we could afford to extend those credits to other cohabitants is another issue entirely," he said. "The viability of some or all of those provisions might well become an issue if they were broadened out to all cohabitants."
The Minister, speaking at the annual conference of the Young Progressive Democrats at the weekend, said it was likely that law reform would make provision for State recognition of relationships between cohabiting adults outside of marriage.
Mr McDowell, however, said constitutional change on the issue was "politically questionable" and could polarise society.
Instead, he said legislation should focus on granting State recognition of civil partnerships, including allowing such partners next-of-kin status.
He said he did not believe new forms of marriage were the way ahead and that a form of civil partnership was the preferred option.
"This could offer greater flexibility than a form of marriage. It may thus better match the practical needs of those who currently seek formal recognition of their relationships," he said.
Whether such partnerships should be treated in the same manner as marriage for the purposes of stamp duty, income tax and capital acquisition tax were "detailed and often technical questions" not easily answered.
"With a fixed tax burden for society as a whole, we enter into the realm of the zero-sum game, where gains for one group must be made good by costs falling on other groups," he said.
