I’ve noticed in the last few days that Ciaran Cuffe, potential new minister is scrubbing up very well. Today this photo of the Green Party Parliamentary Party 2010 was released.  Has he been to Louis Copeland?  What has happened to the tweedie type jackets?

Another chance for John Gormley to say that the party has saved the day in terms of equality and human rights infrastructure in Ireland. Do you remember the last time he said that the Greens had saved the day? Very little has changed in terms of the cuts experienced by the Equality Authority or the faith and trust of the groups affected by the nine grounds covered under the Equal Status Act.

Before we hear more the deal has to be finalised and of course voted on and passed by two thirds of the party at a special conference to be held in Dublin next weekend. All the Greens (elected and lay members) have been told not to talk about this in public and so all is quiet from the public representatives. Although we did hear yesterday from Senator Dan Boyle and Deputy Ciaran Cuffe regarding the passing of the amendment on the Treaty of Reform of the European Union (I never want to hear the word Lisbon and Treaty again!)

Expect the screw to be turned on the party to do the right thing/in the national interest/insert other worthy statement here. I think it won’t be the deers that will be alone in being stalked in the meantime.

‘Green Party Leader John Gormley, Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) Chairperson Kieran Rose, Deputy Chair of the Green Party’s National Council Roderic O’Gorman, and Green Party Justice and equality spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe discuss the Government’s new Civil Partnership Bill.’

Meanwhile the Green Party Leader and others are going to visit GLEN tomorrow to have a chat.

More here later…

All eyes turn to Dundalk on the political front this weekend. They have a conference blog (looking forward to hearing from the Green Party Gay and Lesbian bloggers this weekend!) And they have a conference flickr stream as you can see from Minister Gormley’s smiling face.

And they have guest speakers…including Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone from Marriage Equality. Not sure what the story on the children’s rights issues is…Still going on about the M word though!

Delegates are also hearing tonight from Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan of Marriage Equality Initiative, who are holding a question and answer session with a number of speakers.

Mr Gormley said the forthcoming Civil Partnership Bill may not contain everything the Green Party wanted but said it was a significant move in the right direction and would not have come about without his party’s participation in Government.

Equality campaigner Ms Gilligan and her partner Katherine Zappone are pursuing a Supreme Court case for recognition of their Canadian marriage. She told delegates that marriage is about the freedom to choose to marry the person you love.

I’m in London this weekend where they have Civil Partnerships and childrens’ rights and the sky did not fall in – far far away from Dundalk…though I did get an invite as a blogger

Missing the motion where the Green’s will complain according to today’s Irish Times (subs required)

The Greens will also strongly support “the fundamental and unquestionable human right” of same-sex couples to marry and complain about “the continuing failure” to treat them equally. Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan is working on a Civil Partnerships Bill, which will given legal, property and pensions protections to same-sex couples, but not allow a marriage ceremony. Urging Mr Lenihan to draft such legislation, the motion said a constitutional amendment should be put to the people if it is found in the future that the legislation breaches the existing Constitution.

Remember I’m one of the ones not obsessed by marriage (I’ve already been preached at about this – pardon me for seeking equality and supporting a range of options for family recognition and diversity in Ireland. )

Back to the breaking news…

THE GOVERNMENT is finalising legislation on civil partnerships that will extend many of the same benefits and legal obligations of marriage to same-sex couples, writes CARL O’BRIEN , Social Affairs Correspondent.

However, it will not provide any right for same-sex couples to be considered as joint adoptive parents, despite a strong campaign by gay equality groups.

Under the heads of the new Civil Partnership Bill, which runs to more than 200 pages, same-sex partners will be able to to avail of marriage-like benefits in a range of areas such as property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax.

The dissolution of civil partnerships will also mirror marriage in that applications to dissolve such unions may only be made once both parties have been living apart for four out of the previous five years, just as with traditional divorce applications.

It looks like Green Party officials are fighting to keep any shred of political respect at the moment in heated discussions (well their version of heated discussions – resists urge to make solar powered joke here cos that would be juvenile.)

However, it is understood that last-minute negotiations are ongoing between Green Party and Government officials on whether some form of legal recognition can be provided for gay couples who already parent children, but who have no mechanism to establish a joint legal connection with their child.

So lesbian and gay couples who don’t already parent children but plan to do so in the future won’t be covered? Lock up yer ovaries. Actually maybe that’s the Iona Institute who are trying to help the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform hold the keys?

So back to the burning issues for me so far – The definition of equality and the matters of dissolution.

1. Let’s think about the impact that marriage might have on cohabitants in terms of the social welfare system. No sign of anything on this in Marriage Equality’s documentation either.

I would welcome an accompanying campaign from Marriage Equality for the individualisation of the system so that those who don’t marry do not lose social welfare entitlements or medical cards because they live together. In fact in all the campaigning for equality there seems to be no consideration in this campaign for other family forms/ cohabitants/ relationship forms and an active discouragement of their mention. Ever feel like you might be smacked down? Marriage seems to be the only form of relationship worth consideration or acknowledgement.

Evidence from the UK suggests that lower income lesbian and gay couples have not been thought about there either. But sure aren’t we all supposed to be economic talents or something. Poverty? Double or triple discrimination?

Disabled and lesbian or gay? Ah sure you live with your partner and should marry them and then you’ll be looked after or if you don’t marry them and they are better off than you they can mind you (even get a carers allowance and take away your independence completely!) and you’ll lose all your entitlements after the means test. Just a little bit of potential for abuse here. I have seen it happen in heterosexual land. It’s not pretty!

I don’t want to hear the mantra about ‘with rights come responsibilities’. These are people’s lives we are playing with here and social justice comes in many forms. Oh what’s that?? Ah I might run a seminar on it one day to remind people about that as I think many of the former leaders in that movement seem to have forgotten.

2. If the campaign succeeded are the group proposing a 4 year wait for divorce? With litigation, high costs, in camera and all the other injustices that come with a system critiqued so well by Carol Coulter amongst others?

Not a word mentioned about dissolution of marriages etc. in any of the stuff from Marriage Equality I have read so far. Except how the divorce rate in Massachusetts was not effected by the introduction of equality. Ah yes these relationships that we are looking for parity with for never fail.

Again I suppose I feel bound to point out I support full equality, I’m just not prepared to dump on everyone (and my principles) in the rush to the registry office.

All that said look at Ciaran Cuffe leading the campaign of the 6 versus the 78!

Deputy Ciarán Cuffe said he and his party backed marriage equality but did not have the support in Government of the majority partner. “At the end of the day politically it boils down to six versus 78,” he said.

Poor man. Someone should give him a hand!

Readers of MP will know I have been vocal on the issue of the Green Party policy in government regarding same sex partnership, particularly their response to the Labour Party Civil Union Bill. The meeting was held in Government Buildings yesterday evening.

In attendance were representatives from LGBT groups, individuals and commentators. I was invited because of my commentary on the issue of late on this blog and elsewhere. I have also experience on the issue from the perspective of providing online resources and support to lesbian and bisexual women in Ireland.

The Green Party were represented by John Gormley, T.D, Ciaran Cuffe, T.D., Senator Dan Boyle, Roderic O’Gorman and several party and private office officials. The meeting was well chaired by Dan Boyle and I think the phrase full and frank exchange of views could be attributed in a more positive sense of the term

After introductions from the Green Party on their history of policy on the matter of legislating for same sex partnerships and discussing the nature of the discussions on the forthcoming bill promised by the Minister for Justice, the discussion was opened to the floor.

The heads of the bill are due for publication in March. The Green Party (led by Roderic O’Gorman) have been meeting with Departmental officials to discuss the bill and will continue to do so. There seems to be a twin track approach – in terms of party members and party policy and then the efforts and inputs of ministers at and around the Cabinet.
The following clarifications were made by the Green Party representatives regarding the forthcoming bill and I think these are important to highlight.

• The legislation will provide for a scheme which will be regulated in the same way as other significant life events – i.e. through the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

• It will provide for Civil Partnerships for same sex conjugal relationships, not elderly brothers or friends who have lived together for years.

• There will also be provision for a scheme of dealing with those relationships which are not currently or subsequently recognised through marriage or a civil partnership – particularly in terms of dissolution/ending of those relationships (through break up or death etc.)

The issues of children’s rights and parental rights are the most difficult in terms of the negotiations. More visibility of lesbian and gay families and couples in the public discourse and contact with TD’s was identified as being of most help in highlighting the issue.

Very little other specific detail is available on the bill and it’s contents as this is a matter for the Minister for Justice. There were a lot of ‘don’t knows’ and a few ‘we hadn’t thought of that’s’ which was healthy in terms of the dialogue but alarming in terms of the impact and content of any lobbying done to date. That’s the news as such from the meeting – for more on what happened and some general opinion/commentary click below

There was also discussion of what is full equality – and why the Green Party was not calling for Marriage. John Gormley said that they had tried to include this in the discussions on the programme for government but had not succeeded and that in this programme for government they wanted movement on the issue and that this was the best option. There was as always discussion of the Constitution and the Attorney General’s advice – someday, somehow, somewhere we’ll know I suppose.

I won’t go into specific interjections from the floor as I did not have permission to quote but there were several inputs from people arguing that if full marriage were not offered then this was not good enough.

My personal perspective on the forthcoming legislation is that I would like to see a scheme introduced for the full recognition of same sex relationships by the state. The mechanism for this recognition by partnership/union is far far more important to me that the title of it. If it is the same as marriage in all ways as per the UK Civil Partnerships Act then that’s equality with other recognised conjugal relationships as far as I’m concerned.

But I have to ask why are most lobbyists now only looking for equality with a framework developed for heterosexual relationships?? Why are we not looking for recognition of our relationships and their life events and develop the discourses of our lives rather than continue to hide behind marriage? I don’t mean in terms of seeking special rights either – we have long moved away from special rights. I wonder when and how the rights of non marital conjugal same-sex relationships were dumped on the road to Matrimony?

I think that the investment of energies by community organisations into calling for marriage and marriage alone disenfranchises many many couples who need full protection and recognition and don’t care what it is called and also those who don’t want to marry but do more than cohabit.

The other problem I see with a strategy which concentrates on marriage only is that it’s clear the framework that will be developed come what may – I made the point at the meeting that it was very important that it was done right the first time and for me what it was called was not important. The detail and inclusion of children’s rights and those of parents was pivotal.

Gender proofing of any forthcoming legislation was also important for me.. actually that’s an understatement. Just because I love someone of the same gender does not make my experience of life the same as that of a gay male who loves another gay man. Many more lesbians currently have caring responsibilities than gay men. The access to legislative schemes in other countries is interesting to look at – men use same sex partnership/marriage to protect financial and inheritance rights at a far greater level than lesbian women.

When women turn to the law for recognition it’s far more likely for protection of their family unit. Women still experience poverty and social and economic disadvantage at greater rates than men, they are less likely to own property, have pensions for transfer and other inheritances and legacies. There are women who don’t have children, own 3 houses and have pensions that they wish to transfer, next of kin rights to seek and they need protection and want recognition also. However it’s those who have the weakest voices who often have the most pressing needs and their voices are not at the table for a whole myriad of reasons.

Whilst LGBT organisations and individuals talking to other partners in government is pivotal I do hope that the Green Party continue to dialogue with a broad range of people on the matter and actually learn themselves what the issues are.

This means the Green Party
• framing our rights in terms of equality and human rights,
• realising that there are same sex couple led families and families to be out there – and that our families occur, exsist and are at risk
• and realising that number crunching and making campaign targets out of them won’t make them any more real.

Wanting same sex poster couples and families to do the campaign work removes the onus that I and others expect of legislators to ensure human rights for all of their citizens. Yes let’s educate politicians on what the issues are – why legislation is needed and what is needed. But this is a matter that must be legislated for because it’s the right thing to do, it has to be done, and not just because a group of citizens are calling by T.D’s clinics looking for it.

I am but one individual in all of this, I had my chance to make my views on the matter known and to highlight some of the deficits I felt in the current debate based on my experience of talking to women in same sex relationships in both urban and rural locations in Ireland. Coming away from the meeting I think we’d be extremely naïve to think that the Green Party in government are going to make it perfect but they need to feel the heat of the cooker whilst putting their ingredients into the recipe.

The expectations of the lesbian and gay community in the ability of the Green Party to introduce full equality have probably all but disappeared after the responses to the Labour Party private members bill. They have a lot of work to do in terms of gaining trust and knowledge of the situations that face same sex partnerships and families in this state. That might not be considered by them to be the job of a party in Government (gaining our trust and using the expertise) – it is expected nonetheless by their queer electorate.

A whole lot more happened at that meeting but that’s enough for now. Other reports will appear elsewhere in the coming days no doubt and indeed as we have 3 blogging politicians amongst those in attendance it will be great to hear of their perspectives.

Your comments/questions on my longest. blog post. ever! as always are welcome.

Anyways…go have a look at…

• White, male, Irish, middleaged and able bodied…this poor diddums is feeling aggrieved (nay discrminated against!)
• Some Lesbian Phone sex – really…. go on you know you want to!!! (Oh now I think the google searches…sigh)
• I wish I could say go read Beaut.ie (been buying a bit of make up meself recently shock horror!) but anyway their host company got a dose of the willies (oh that is rather beautiful – I’m keeping it) and as for the Indo and the rubbish they are printing all week – from someone who has had the indo hanging around my site digging and nicking stuff I can only add sure they have bloggers working for them for free anyway!!!

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