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Cóir Date: 16.03.2010 Last November, Cóir’s report The Consequences of the Civil Partnership Bill for Marriage and the Family was presented to public representatives. It has now been re-issued for immediate and wide distribution in response to demand from those concerned about marriage and the family who wish to make their voices heard.
The Civil Partnership Bill has entered its Select Committee stage in the Dáil, the second out of four stages in which a Bill becomes law. This Bill is being pushed through at the behest of a tiny minority, and will seriously undermine the already-fragile status of marriage. Cóir has called for the Bill to be scrapped and for the Government to concentrate instead on supporting the family, the bedrock of society.
In the last part of February, Richard Greene, one of Cóir’s spokesmen, himself brought over 60 concerned supporters from around the country to meet Minister Eamon Ryan in Kildare Street. He presented the main findings and recommendations of this report, which the Minister said he would convey to the Government. The meeting was a resounding success, especially considering that the Minister agreed to a mid-week meeting during the evening, and there was frank and civil disagreement with the Minister.
Mr Greene pointed out that the entire Bill is so damaging that scrapping it, in its entirety, would be the only satisfactory solution. He, and others, also pointed out that Section 23 of the Bill provides that, “a registrar who, without reasonable cause”, fails or refuses to issue a civil partnership form, “shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine of up to €2,000 or imprisonment of up to six months”.
The Bill also amends sections of the Employment Equality Act and the Equal Status Act which leaves it open for many other service providers (such as photographers and hoteliers) or religious administrators to be found guilty of a breach of the law if they object on moral or religious grounds to provide services for a civil partnership.
The Select Committee stage is the most crucial stage for this Bill. Therefore, Coir are calling on the public to reflect on the serious implications this Bill has for marriage and, potentially, the upbringing of children in Ireland. We are also asking them to take the time to read this report, and then to call their local councillors, TDs and Senators to ask that the Bill be scrapped.
Copies of this report may be obtained by downloading it from our website here or by ringing 01-8746858.
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