Maman Poulet

One of the services that the Oireachtas Library and Research Service provides for members is a Bills Digest Service and I received a copy of the digest that has been prepared for Oireachtas members on the Civil Partnership Bill.

The purpose of the Bills Digest Service is to aid Members in the scrutiny of legislation by providing timely, accessible briefings on legislation before the Houses. The Bills Digest series is a companion service to our Debate Pack Service which aims to provide Members with selected secondary source material for upcoming legislative debates in a convenient format.

Now we know how members may get the info for their speeches apart from lobby groups and indeed I’m looking forward to blogging the speeches during the debates in both houses.

I’ve not read the entire document but note it’s has a summary of the work that has been done to date on researching (stalling!) and debating the issue. There’s some examination of the costs in the UK.

Have a look and see what you think yourself.

Civil Partnership Bills 2009 – Digest for Oireachtas Members

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And so it begins. . .

A few interesting items are starting to arrive in my inbox prior to the debating of the Civil Partnership Bill.

First is a letter from the Christian Solidarity Party sent to all TD’s and Senators. (Text is also uploaded here).

In summary; Marriage is threatened by the bill, homosexuals have complex and frequently unstable relationships, and finally we’re in a recession so it’s going to cost too much.

Christian Solidarity Party Letter to TD’s and Senators

All literature doing the rounds at the moment from all sides is most welcome to tips (@) mamanpoulet.com.

I’ve checked and contrary to the information contained in the letter the bill is not listed for debate next week but I assume we will have confirmation of this shortly.

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How many words does it take in his first blog post for the Fianna Fáil blog for Charlie O’Connor TD to mention Tallaght?

Count-a-long-avec-MamanPoulet…

I have always been concerned for the safety of animals at Halloween but it has become a major focus of mine following a dog hanging incident in my constituency in Tallaght last year.

31 words in!  Could you imagine what it would be like if Charlie was on Twitter?

You can read the rest here - no mention of Jobstown or Killinarden unfortunately.

(It’s a game amongst staff and members  in Leinster House when Charlie speaks to see how long it is before Charlie will mention the word Tallaght when he is on his feet or indeed how many times he can get it into a contribution no matter if it is relevant or not. )

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The Taoiseach needs a new photographer or website editor  or both! I was looking for contact information for the Chief Whip’s office earlier and was questioning my eyesight and reaching for my lenses cloth.

There are three photos on the front page of the Department of the Taoiseach’s  site today (screencap) including one where Mr. Cowen meets the Vietnamese deputy prime minister

and this one of him meeting the Belgian Prime Minister where well it was unfortunate the shutter stopped there and that it was taken by someone seemingly prostrate before the leaders.

They are out of focus, stretched across the page and well they hardly the most photogenic images of the leader of the nation are they?

And I’m not a website designer but isn’t the site over all just terrible?

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From Failblog (via Feministing)

see more Epic Fails

It’s only slightly worse that the ‘push yer mate round campus in a wheelchair‘ type exercises I’ve seen carried out in Irish third level institutions or ‘blindfold yourself and be dragged round campus to fall into things.’

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Do the Iona Institute think the Irish public and their elected representatives are a few sultanas short of the full wedding cake? Well they must obviously with the latest line of lobbying that is underway with regard to the Civil Partnership Bill. Yesterday we heard that Iona Institute and their Director, my favourite passive aggressive, David Quinn, were invited in to address a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting. Also invited were GLEN and Church of Ireland committee representatives.

It is interesting don’t you think that no other Catholic Church body was invited in to address the meeting or were they? Have Iona suddenly been elevated to Church mouthpiece? In the same way GLEN seem to be regarded as speaking on behalf of the LGB community? (Yes I know they say they don’t and many wish they wouldn’t but you get my drift).

So the ruse that Iona began with on Prime Time a while ago of protecting the parish hall committee a few weeks ago is continuing – this is where someone from Iona says that Civil Partnership legislation should contain a conscientious objection clause because before you know it Jack and Steve will be able to do the indecent thing in the local parish hall and the parish committee won’t be able to object due to equality legislation. In today’s Sunday Times we now have the photographer and the printer mentioned as needing protecting should they refuse to take the photos at a civil partnership or print the invites. Not a lot of mention of the registrars these days because maybe people feel registrars are public servants and should be doing their jobs in the same way nurses and Gardai are expected to serve?

Any organisation or individual who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of employment rights, such as pensions, or who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of goods and services against individuals in a civil partnership will very likely find themselves on the wrong side of the law,” it claims. Iona said policy-makers had a choice of treating belief in “traditional marriage” as a “prejudice”, or protecting that belief as “legitimate”.

Senator Ronan Mullen describes it as a ‘conscience opt out’. Conscience cop out more like.

We all know that Iona Institute would rather not have Civil Partnership legislation introduced at all. But the proposed bill is so basic and non offensive (except of course to a lot of lesbians and gay men) that there is little for them to complain about. So they come along and pretend they are worried about the people who may be paid to provide services at these events who may not wish to do so. I’m wondering why they didn’t mention florists? Or do you think that they realised that most florists would be only delighted? What about wedding planners? Caterers? Hairstylists? Okay I know I’m guilty of stereotyping but I’m just giving you some assistance in seeing through the pile of rubbish that is Iona’s latest ruse.

Back to that FF Parliamentary Party meeting – there were 25 TD’s and senators in attendance and there is allegedly some discord within the party on the bill. Not as much Discord as there is over the proposed Drink Driving legislation and nothing like the discord there should be over NAMA.

David Quinn says that the examples they are giving and case they are making “have happened overseas. This interpretation isn’t some kind of phantasm.”

Lovely new word there phantasm - orgasm of thought for rightwingers?

As a Catholic Priest openly mentions, sympathises and grieves with partner of Stephen Gately and is widely praised for it, the Iona Institute have to dig deeply to raise the ire of traditional catholics in Ireland against any legislation protecting same sex relationships. Sure the local GAA club is now not safe as a traditional area of marital protection since Donal Óg came out. (Ok I know I’m going too far there – my next post will be on the GAA and their role in closet keeping in Ireland. )

So do you think the TD’s were told by GLEN that lots of people are deeply unhappy with the legislation? And that many families are not protected by it?

A Glen delegation addressed the meeting separately. Kieran Rose of Glen described the meeting as “positive, open and friendly”.

He added: “All of the debate was totally reasonable.”

I’m sure it was.

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You mean you haven’t heard? Ah don’t worry I’m here to fill you in thanks to the Cóir newsletter fairy.

Cóir still have not produced their (much awaited) analysis of the Lisbon Campaign but Niamh (God Bless her) did find time this week to send out a newsletter to ask supporters to lend their support to a rally tomorrow.

We’re asking everyone to make a special effort to attend a Rally in support of Czech president Václav Klaus on Sunday Oct 25 at 1pm. The Rally will be held outside Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, and will be addressed by Dr Seán Ó Domhnaill from Cóir, and Professor Anthony Coughlan of the National Platform amongst others.

(Teeny Problem there – Anthony Coughlan (who I had the pleasure of being taught by in TCD) was never a professor but sure accuracy never troubled Cóir during the campaign!)

It looks like President Klaus is getting his way on an optout and may sign the treaty before the end of the year. So there’s a whole lot of praying to be done at the Rally tomorrow.

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There is a nasty little spat underway between the Church of Ireland and the Department of Education over the funding of Protestant schools.

Dr. John Neill, the Bishop of Dublin and Glendalough, has spoken last night about how Protestant schools will be forced out of business due to last years education cuts.  He asserts the removal of funding was not related to finances but a ‘”very determined and doctrinaire effort…to strike at a sector which some officials totally failed to understand.”

The country’s 21 protestant schools used to be treated as non-fee paying schools due to their minority status.  However the resulting special grants for the sector were removed in the last budget. The schools say that they used the extra funding (and staff rations similar to non feepaying schools) to support poorer Protestant families in being able to send their children to schools in line with their ethos.

The Minster said that it’s unconstitutional to continue this funding but he is being respectful to the Church. Families and church leaders have protested the cuts since last year. Yesterday in the Dáil the Minister answered questions on the issue from Deputy Brian Hayes.

When I took away this grant, the Protestant bishops agreed with me that they had €2 million in the education committee’s coffers that was not spent and that was derived from this grant. In the interim period I asked them to use that money to defray any difficulties that exist and come back to me with a scheme that would look at the Dublin and general urban situation where money is more freely available to families with a view to targeting together those rural schools that are experiencing problems. That was last November and we are now in October, and I am still waiting for the Protestant community to come back with its observations.

Enter the tweeting Bishop. Yes I too was rather surprised (and delighted!) to realise that we have a member of the Church of Ireland hierarchy who tweets.

Bishop Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork (previously known to some as he who officiated at David and Victoria’s wedding) has contradicted the Ministers assertion that he was awaiting to hear from the Bishops with proposals. In a series of tweets last night, Colton indicated that the hierarchy had made representations and entered discussions with the Minister and the Department officials.

And later hes said that proposals were submitted in writing to the Minister and all members of the Oireachtas.

Over to you Minister? I’m sure someone in Fianna Fáil can show you how to set up a Twitter account? I’ll be keeping an eye to the Bishop’s account in future. It seems he’s fairly popular in Cork and not just for footballers weddings!

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The National Women’s Council of Ireland launched a new website yesterday and it was really lovely to be asked to do the launching at a function in Dublin.

It’s a important development for the organisation with the site becoming the main source of information on their work and giving a profile for their many member organisations and campaigns.

They are also using online tools to communicate their messages and involve others in their work. Shh now but I do believe the f is going to be put back in feminist with regards to women’s rights campaigns and the policy work that NWCI are well known for is going to be accompanied by a new campaigning zeal!

Expect to see lots of blogging, twittering and the like in the months to come.  NWCI have a campaign running at the moment against cuts in child benefit and the many other cuts proposed in the McCarthy Report which no doubt will increase in volume between now and December 9th.  They are also asking you to spot the woman in Irish public life. I was doing a  bit of that myself watching Tonight with Vincent Browne last week – women were never the main guests only the paper reviewers. I also noted that Ann Marie Hourihane yesterday in the Irish Times pointed out that women in death are invisible.

I’m looking forward to the regular NWCI feature explaining what their member organisations do throughout the country and Longford Women’s Link are the first group to be profiled.

I was asked to write a guest blog post for NWCI’s new blog and have written on the subject of disability and care and the choice not to be cared for.

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Civil Partnership.

No not Dermot, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who published the Civil Partnership Bill earlier this year  but our Dear Iar-Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

As you may have noticed Bertie has a book out and has been on the book tour trail both here and abroad and has been enthralling interviewers with his ‘isms’.

In response to a question from Time Magazine about Ireland having changed dramatically during his time in politics., we got a dose of the economics alongside the social change (note all those stats rolling off his tounge!)

If you go back to the mid-’80s, unemployment was 20%. The debt-GDP ratio was higher than Ethiopia’s. Emigration was massive. The new Irish [immigrants] were 1% of the workforce. Before this recession we got to full employment, 7% growth every year. Most of the young Irish that wanted to came back. The working population of the new Irish is now 15%. We’ve been able to put huge money into infrastructure, to attract foreign direct investment to set up new industries. We brought in legislation decriminalizing homosexuals, helping gay and lesbian couples to have civil partnerships, we brought in divorce.

Helping gay and lesbian couples to have civil partnerships  – now lets put aside that the legislation is not passed, that another minister published it in under a different Taoiseach – lets just look at the way that lesbians and gay men are being helped. We are not worthy. He was not cracking that particular joke during his standup routine interview on the Late Late last week.

I also love the way he says homosexuals were decriminalised – and not homosexual acts. And shhh should we mention that it was a Rainbow government that brought in divorce?

If you notice any other fine interviews from Bertie as the superhero of social change in Ireland please let me know!

(h/t: Ian)

Update: I’ve been keeping away from commenting on the coverage/interpretation of Stephen Gately’s civil partnership in national and international media and even by the Catholic Church – it’s too soon for that for me anyway. However today’s Sunday Independent piece on the events of the past week turns into  spin on Bertie fitting in nicely with the above.   In a piece by Anne Harris, Brendan O’Connor and Barry Egan (3 of ye to write it eh?) we get this.

Bertie Ahern was there. And he was entitled to be. Not just because Stephen was a constituent but because no politician did more to further the cause of civic partnerships.

It’s now folklore. When you are all rushing up the registry office or wherever to do the indecent thing it’ll be Bertie that got it for you.

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