It was confirmed last night that the sections to be included in the Finance Bill to provide for the rights accorded to Civil Partners would not be ready for debate for another month. As I mentioned yesterday it was the intention of the Minister for Finance to include the section at committee stage.
In the negotiations yesterday to bring forward the General Election and pass the key sections of the Finance Bill before the dissolution of the Dáil the section on Civil Partnership and the section on taxing bankers bonuses will not be included.
Given that the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights of Cohabitants Act became law in July and the then Minister for Justice and Law Reform said that various departments would be working on the necessary legislation, one has to ask why it took six months and the necessary sections were not ready to go when the bill was published last week.
Was this a delaying tactic by the Government? Incompetence? It’s really incredible that this was not done.
When the Minister and the party spokespersons (except for Sinn Féin who staged a strop after saying on Saturday that they would support it) agreed the stages of the bill would be debated nobody mentioned in the doorstepping outside that the Civil Partnership section would be missing. Joan Burton took to her facebook page to explain the situation.
Minister said it would have been end of Feb at earliest that the amendments would be available. Dept of Finance will work on these amendments during election period so they are ready for new Govt to enact as a priority
Glen said that they were
disappointed that the provisions for Civil Partnership are not included. The first Civil Partnerships have already been recognised by the State and a significant number of Civil Partnership ceremonies will take place in Ireland from early April.
I have asked for reaction from Fine Gael and their comment on a committment towards early passage of the legislation in the next Dáil. Senators Paschal Donohue and Jerry Buttimer both informed me that they would expect that the party would continue their support for the Civil Partnership legislation by supporting the introduction of legislation in the next Dáil to bring in the tax codes. The Irish Times reports that the meeting of spokespersons agreed ‘that a second Finance Bill would be brought before the next Dáil to deal with these issues.’
What an unholy mess. I blame Labour and Fine Gael for not waiting the extra time to add the CP tax reforms. I don’t buy the end of February to bring them forward. (This is spin). The CP Act was passed in July. What has the government being doing since then? I think that we should insist that we are treated the same as opposite sex couples and have our tax affairs deal with at the same time – otherwise what is all the TALK of equality about! Ah sure the gays can go to the back of the queue we’ll pass some sort of old bill for them sometime. To me this is close to open contempt for gay and lesbian people and barely a squak from our beloved community leaders!
Labour have released at press release on the matter:
http://www.labour.ie/press/listing/129597158024782488.html#fulltext
NEWSFLASH: – The Governemnet in a dramatic uturn will insert provisions into the Finance Bill, 2011 to provide for same sex marriage.
So Labour’s Gays, Lesbians and Transgender group (I presume that this statement is official labour policy) agree that it is ok to cater ONLY for opposite sex couples in the (Straight) Finance Bill. They also agree that time honoured conventions should be put aside in a mad rush: and they think its ok to wait for a new Finance Bill – the world’s first Gay Finance Bill.
They don’t know what the Gay Finance Bill will contain, when it will be passed (earliest ….etc) and most importantly they don’t know whether the Gay Finance Bill will it be retrospective.
The Gay Finance Bill may be a first but its not the type of first I was looking for.
Personally I do not want anything to do with political parties who make splendid claims for equality but when push comes to shove the gays are told to wait at the back of the bus as it might mean that Labour and Fine Gael take power a week earlier!
Rosa Parks where are you when we need you Sister.
We don’t need an election we need a revolution!
None of the parties have a clue about the lives of real people and have nothing to offer us.
Oh and don’t forget these are the people (Labour) who want gay marriage for us – I suppose it will be gay marriage by a thousand cuts just like the Civil Partnership Bill.
The Government is to blame as well for not planning for an orderly introduction of Civil partnership. I emailed several ministers and TDs and not on of them – even one month before the signing of hte Commencement Order – had a clue as to the timetable.
Lets see how many demands that the three independents make be featured in the Straight Finance Bill – my guess is all of them!
If they were three gay TD’s we would have gay marriage by Saturday.
Equal but Separate Development (Gay and Straight Finance Bills) I know I heard that phrase many things before but where?
The latest word on the street is that the Gay Finance Bill has been approved by Revenue/Finance and is now with the AG’s office to see that the Gay Finance Bill does not threaten the institution of marriage in some way. So what exactly is in the gay Finance Bill? Will Straigh married people have more tax rights than gay civil partnered people to protect marriage?
And we won’t know what tax regime we are being offered until the the new Government is in office. I think the Government should publish its Gay Finance Bill now so that we can decide for ourselves what we voting for.
The AG does not always get it right and no matter how careful he is the Supreme Court might have a differnet view so come on AG publish and be dammed!
Marriage is heavily fortified in the Constitution and would require a referendum to change it while CP is a stautory scheme which could be abolished by the Dail overnight. How much more protection does marriage need?
Pass the Gay Finance Bill now! I don’t want Irish law to confrim me as a single man once again two weeks after recognising me as a Civil Partner – its making us a laughing stock.
Slavery is abolished – but not on Tuesday!
I see that the Minister for Finance has attacked the Greens in the Seanad for not allowing the Government the extra week or two to add the Civil Partnership taxation mesaures to the (straight) Finance Bill – especially as the Greens had pushed CP so much. I am glad that at least some politicians think that excluding gays is a matter of regret – the silence from almost everyone else has been deafening.
Thanks Brian (but I won’t be voting FF) and I won’t be voting Green on this occasion. either. Now who else is there……..hmmmmmm
Handbags over Civil Partnership and Government Collapse // Jan 30, 2011 at 10:10
[...] after the discussions between all parties to arrange the debate on the Finance Bill Joan Burton reported that the minister said that the sections on the bill would not be ready for another month. And of [...]
Finance Bill published to pave way for full Civil Partnership rights // Jun 9, 2011 at 15:02
[...] Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. These matters were omitted from the Finance Bill published at the beginning of the year before the collapse of the previous [...]