RTE report Tuesday November 5th that the Irish
Government Cabinet has agreed to hold a referendum on civil marriage for
same-sex couples, which is likely to take place in mid-2015. It is understood that Minister for
Justice Alan Shatter brought a memo to the Cabinet this morning on the issue.
This is social engineering at its worst and can only damage
the institution of marriage.
This issue has been very much in the news in the UK in
recent months and we are linking to an excellent document prepared by the Society
for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) on the issue and would recommend
that it should be widely circulated.
In a separate article the Sunday Times reported that
Minister Shatter will give guardianship rights of children to gay couples in
advance of the referendum.
Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Eamon Gilmore recently said
he hoped there would be a referendum on same-sex marriages during the lifetime
of the Government. He said the right of gay people to marry was an
"important issue". Mr Gilmore also said it would be "important to win this
referendum".
It was also reported last week that two labour MEPs called
for a referendum on same-sex marriage on the same date as the local and
European elections next May, to ensure a good voter turnout.
Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny however, bruised by
his humiliating defeat in the Seanad Referendum, and concerned that he will be
faced with a new backbench revolt within Fine Gael, was last week reported to
be hesitating. It appears that the compromise decision has been to push the
referendum date to 2015.
The Sunday Times Nov. 3rd reported on a briefing note on Justice Minister Alan Shatter's Family
Relationships and Children's Bill, a draft of which is to be brought before the
Cabinet shortly. Sarah McInerney [p. 1] reports: 'The minister intends to
provide that in a surrogacy case, parentage may be legally assigned by the
court on the basis of a genetic connection to one of the parents, with
agreement of the surrogate. … It also proposes to give guardianship // [p. 2]
rights of children to gay couples for the first time. … Shatter's proposals
would allow a civil partner who is living with the adoptive or biological
parent of a child and acting 'in loco parentis' for more than a year, to apply
for guardianship of the child. The government intends for this aspect of the
bill, which will be brought before the Oireachtas ahead of a referendum on
same-sex marriage, to deal with many of the issues which may arise in the
referendum debate in relation to adoption and guardianship of children by gay
couples. … Shatter confirmed he will be bringing a comprehensive draft bill
before cabinet shortly.'
Other reports at variance with the Sunday Times report
suggest that the proposal to give guardianship rights of children to gay
couples will not be part of the ‘Family Relationships and Children's Bill’ but
will be legislated for separately in a stand alone bill.
