Thanks for the info on the point about legislative issues for the CP Bill. I am still concerned that the proverbial thinking isn’t joined up. The sense of irony that we cannot join up the elements and we cannot have gay marriage either for constitutional reasons is not lost on me. I sense that a CP Bill without the welfare/ tax elements in place until sometime into 2010, and it will effectively corrale us without an appropriate package of rights/ entitlements, etc. If it is going to go down to the wire in December, I’m also concerned the government might fall on the budget anyhow – if backbenchers revolted over drink-driving, what will they do over the budget?

Would I be right in thinking that the finance part of the bill is part of the budget? And therefore will be on Dec 9th?

@ Sean – I’ve heard a couple of people say that separate legislation on welfare and tax means it’s easier to amend a finance bill (for example restricting any rights already recognised for same-sex couples) rather than amending a civil partnership bill, without many people noticing, or at least not noticing until it may be very late.

(That may be a cynical or slightly paranoid view, but it made sense when I heard it!)

I’d have to have a proper read of it to see what I really think of it, but so far the Digest gets a “Surprisingly not bad” from me.

In your experience, MP, do you reckon a timeline can be discerned from the publication of these Digests to the timing of the Dáil/Seanad debates?

I’ve only downloaded a copy to read and did notice a couple of strange things like “cohabitatants” (p3) and “Principals” of the Bill. It is rather
‘revisionist’ IMO about how and why previous attempts to introduce civil partnership bills were not successful, ditto the views on marriage (as far as I’ve read).

The memo states directly that there is no provision for welfare and tax of civil partners and notes other legislation would be required. This frankly alarms the hell out of me: why is there this great big hole in the road at this point?

It would be prudent for the Government to clarify these issues by putting up Bills (or amendments to existing legislation) in theses arenas, as there will be much time wasted debating Civil Partnership and having Min for Finance making up amendments/ appeasing allcomers over these issues (again). Today in the Irish Times, Andreas Hess has a thoughtful piece about the weakness of public intellectuals in this Republic: when a government leaves cow pats like no legislation on tax of civil partners (etc.), it weakens the citizens’ abilities to have an ‘intellectual’ discourse, if we have to shout from the sidelines as usual about things that should have been prepared while we have been sitting in the ante-room since 1993.