The privileged position of the married family in the Constitution should be ended to prevent discrimination against unmarried couples and children, according to a policy document to be published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) today.
The report, Equality for All Families, says unmarried couples, same-sex couples, lone parents and children experience "serious inequalities and major difficulties" because of the State's failure to recognise their relationships and families. It says many suffer discrimination in areas such as taxation, housing, inheritance and welfare, while there is no explicit recognition of the rights of the child in the Constitution.
The report, to be launched by ICCL founder and former South African government minister Prof Kader Asmal, says the Constitution should guarantee all individuals respect for their family life.
The family based on marriage should no longer be privileged, in order to protect children's rights in particular, while there should be an express right for all persons to marry in accordance with the law and found a family, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The group will also call for a lifting of the ban on same-sex marriage and support the introduction of a new optional partnership registration system for all couples. The report comes as the Government is considering introducing a partnership system for same-sex couples. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell have indicated, however, that they will not support marriage for same sex couples and say they fear a referendum on the issue could spark a highly divisive campaign.
In order to fulfil Ireland's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ICCL report calls for the insertion of an express guarantee of children's rights. Also, a gender-neutral provision recognising the work of carers in the home should replace the current outmoded reference to women's domestic "duties", the report says.
Prof Asmal will call on the Government today to prioritise children's rights in any such future reforms of family law and State policy. He also said he intended to share his experiences from South Africa, which in 1996 became the first country to explicitly include protection from sexual orientation discrimination in its constitution. Full marriage rights have been available to same-sex couples in the country for several months.
"Families should be valued for what they do rather than how they are labelled. Giving legal protection between children and their gay, lesbian or non-biological parents is first and foremost a question of children's rights. Quite simply, a child's best interests are served by recognising and protecting their relationship with their primary carers irrespective of biology, gender or sexual orientation," he said.
Mark Kelly, director of the ICCL, said it was a sign of a mature democracy that all people - regardless of their sexual orientation - should be able to regulate their personal relationships in a way they choose.