The first civil registrations for same-sex couples are likely to take place next January following overwhelming approval of the Civil Partnership Bill by the Oireachtas tonight (6:30pm Irish Time, Friday 9th/July/2010), 48 votes in favor, 4 against.

Congratulations to the Irish!

BTW is it "marriage" or "civil registration" that has been approved?

Nice to hear that it was passed by such a large majority in a predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Has the Catholic Church had anything to say about this or are they still hanging their collective heads in shame over the child abuse scandals?

It would be unusual if they had not voiced a hypocritical opinion.

This is civil partnership - not 'marriage'. The Act is flawed in many respects, not least its treatment of children in any relationship.

The Catholic church has never 'hung their collective heads...'

The bill is not exclusively for same sex relationships, nor is it a marriage bill. For people, like me, who choose not to marry (again) I can register my relationship with the County Registrar and this is then recognised in Irish law. She is from Mauritius so it will help her with all the hassle as to residency permits etc. The bill gives specific rights to the couple when splitting. You have the right to both sign an agreement recognising the contribution, or non contribution, of each party to property, utility bills, assets, etc, and opt out of the bills reference to same. This will be referred to on any break up. An interesting point in the bill is that if you are living together for a period of 3 years you are automatically included in the property rights and their division....unless you have signed the agreement.

Have a read!.....http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2009/4409/b44a09d.pdf

The bill is not exclusively for same sex relationships, nor is it a marriage bill. For people, like me, who choose not to marry (again) I can register my relationship with the County Registrar and this is then recognised in Irish law. She is from Mauritius so it will help her with all the hassle as to residency permits etc. The bill gives specific rights to the couple when splitting. You have the right to both sign an agreement recognising the contribution, or non contribution, of each party to property, utility bills, assets, etc, and opt out of the bills reference to same. This will be referred to on any break up. An interesting point in the bill is that if you are living together for a period of 3 years you are automatically included in the property rights and their division....unless you have signed the agreement.

Have a read!..... http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2009/4409/b44a09d.pdf

I am not going to read 117 pages of legalese right now, I'll take your word for it. I actually do like it that it is phrased in a way that both same- and opposite-gender couples can benefit. that sounds better (to me) than a special bill for gay people.

Others' opinions may differ.

One in the ass for the left footers, congratulations to sanity!

is the pope visiting there this year?

Great...now married Irish gays can have a 60% divorce rate just like their straight married role models. Be careful what you wish for!

I can't believe we're recognising "same sex" couples...

Edited September 3, 201015 yr by djayz

I can't believe we're recognising "same sex" couples...

Yeah, what's next? Men wanting to marry their pillows? (That's a joke!)

Edited September 3, 201015 yr by Jingthing