Modern Irish Families Need to be Recognised in our Laws

I welcome the publication of the General Scheme of the Children and Family Relationships Bill by Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter.

The Children and Family Relationships Bill is a very important piece of legislation for 21^st Century Ireland, reflecting the reality of Irish families today.

Our laws at the moment are out of kilter with public opinion and the reality for many families. Children are being cared for in single-parent families, by civil partners, by families with a parent and step parent, and by extend family members and guardians.  This bill will modernise family law to recognise these and other family situations.   

It also updates our laws around custody and guardianship and the rights and responsibilities of children and parents in cases of surrogacy and IVF.    

As Co-Chair of Labour LGBT - an active section of the Party which has campaigned for LGBT rights for over a decade – I am pleased that the Bill will allow civil partners to jointly adopt a child for the first time and provide much-needed legal clarity for LGBT families and their children.

This legal certainty is particularly important in advance of the referendum on same-sex marriage due to take place in 2015. Events of recent days illustrate more than ever the need for a responsible debate based on the facts of Irish family life and the laws in relation to them.

I met Minister Shatter about progress on the Children and Family Relationships Bill late last year and it was encouraging to see the scope of his plans for the Bill. I am glad the heads of the Bill have now been published and that it will be considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which will hold a public consultation.

I look forward to following the progress of the Bill during the public consultation and contributing to the debate on this Bill when it comes before the Dáil later in 2014.