Unmarried couples living together in long-term relationships should receive benefits similar to married couples in areas such as tax and social welfare, according to a review of the Constitution by an all-party Oireachtas committee.
It is one of a series of proposed constitutional and legislative changes aimed at providing greater recognition for families not based on marriage. The changes would have wide-ranging implications for the estimated 77,000 cohabiting couples in the State, of whom at least 1,300 are same-sex couples.
However, the 14-member committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD and solicitor Denis O'Donovan, will not recommend changes to the definition of the family as being based on marriage. Minutes of meetings seen by The Irish Times show some committee members feared that changes to the traditional definition of the family could open the door to recognition of gay marriage.
While a minority of members favoured changing the definition of the family, others warned that a referendum on this point could be "misinterpreted and divisive". It was noted that the majority of submissions wanted the traditional family to be retained.
The All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which has been reviewing the constitutional provisions relating to the family for more than a year, is set to recommend:
A constitutional amendment to underpin the individual rights of children. This would also give added protection to the rights of natural fathers and lone parents;
Legislative changes to give tax, inheritance and stamp duty concessions to the estimated 77,000 unmarried and same-sex couples.
A constitutional amendment to make the provision relating to women in the home gender-neutral;
... Legislative changes aimed at strengthening the natural father's position before the family law courts.
In deciding not to recommend changes to the definition of the family, the committee has chosen not to go as far as the Constitutional Review Group in 1996, which backed plans for a clause which would guarantee all individuals respect for family life "whether based on marriage or not".
Instead, most members agreed that by enhancing the rights of non-marital families through legislation and giving special recognition to the rights of the child in the constitution, recognition for co-habitees and single parents would be substantially improved.
The report is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has endorsed the need for a degree of recognition and protection of irregular unions, whether same-sex or not, but has delayed taking action until the publication of the report.