The Government has chosen not to allow the Oireachtas by law to decide on the meaning and extent of the term 'other durable relationships'. If so, equality issues inevitably arise for any differential approaches in family law, succession law, pension law, social welfare law and tax law. Will parties to an undissolved marriage or to a cohabitation be free, without impediment, to establish a further constitutional family? Most importantly, why should the nature, status, and entitlements of people in relation to their imprescriptible family rights depend on future case-law outcomes amendable only by referendum? The Family referendum is not merely a step into the “known unknown” – but into an entirely foreseeable and avoidable mess.

Source: The Irish Times February 07, 2024 16:21 UTC