Speed of change in family life a test for politicians

ANALYSIS:WHAT ON earth would Éamon de Valera make of it all? When he supervised the drafting of the Constitution in 1937, it is clear he had just one form of family in mind: a family based on marriage.

Officially, at least, there were few recorded births outside marriage. The term cohabiting couples had yet to come into existence. Divorce was something which happened across the water – and as for same-sex couples, well, that was utterly unthinkable.

Family meant a married mother and father and, if God was kind, a large and sturdy family.

Today, this has all changed. Now, one in three families does not conform to the traditional model of a family couple, where both partners are in their first marriage.

Of the 1.15 million children living with parents in Ireland, 75 per cent live with two married parents, 18 per cent with one parent and 6 per cent with cohabiting parents.

Research published yesterday by the Economic and Social Research Institute in conjunction with UCD provides new insights into the extent of this social change, and it hints at the kind of implications these changes will have on public policy.

One of the biggest sectors where change is needed is in the area of parental leave and flexible working.

It has been known for some time that the traditional notion of the family unit headed by a male breadwinner is increasingly outmoded. What has not been realised as a society is how this position is rapidly being reversed.

Research now shows that among younger couples, the woman is increasingly better educated and more likely to be a higher earner than the man. This has obvious implications for childcare and flexible working.

Increasingly, it may make more economic sense for fathers to play a greater role in child-rearing and children, yet there is no statutory right to paternity leave in Ireland.

Whereas in the UK there have been rights for the past four years which allow either parent to request flexible working, as well as an improved array of options, this is not the case in Ireland.

In fact, the failure to have these flexible options in place is likely to be harmful to the economy. That is because – given the way parental leave and flexible working is organised – child-rearing is likely to affect more heavily a mother’s career prospects.

New insights into the 240,000-plus people in cohabiting relationships may also merit attention from policymakers.

Overall figures in Households and Family Structures in Ireland, published yesterday, show that unmarried couples living together are more likely to be from a lower socio-economic group and to be less well educated.

For example, a couple in their 30s who both have third-level qualifications are less than half as likely to cohabit as a couple who both have lower second-level qualifications.

Highly significant changes to the legal position of cohabitants came into force earlier this year, with barely a whimper of public debate.

As well as extending marriage-like privileges to same-sex couples, the Civil Partnership Act introduced a new “safety net” redress scheme for cohabitants in the case of the death of a partner or the break-up of a relationship.

Now, cohabitants who have been with their partner for five years – or two years where the couple have children – have acquired both legal rights and responsibilities in respect of their fellow cohabitant, whether they realise it or not.

However, as the report notes, significant numbers of cohabiting couples who break up may now find themselves going to court to decide the division not only of their property but also of their future income.

“Crucially, unlike where couples take an active decision to get married, presumably with some degree of understanding of the contract that they are entering into, cohabiting couples will now enter a similar contract by default, potentially without any active decision and perhaps entirely unwittingly,” the report notes.

The real danger is that couples may enter into contracts to which they would not agree if they had legal advice.

Given that cohabiting couples are statistically more likely to be less well-off and have a lower standard of education, it seems reasonable to assume significant numbers are not aware of these rights or responsibilities.

The report advocates research to guide policy that aims to assess the level of awareness of the new rights and responsibilities, among the public at large and especially among those most likely to be affected. This might reveal a need to raise awareness of the new legal situation, which may prove crucial to the effectiveness of the Act itself.

But what of the traditional family based on marriage? So many reports point to this as being the “gold standard” family unit, given the positive outcomes for children in these settings.

Well, it still accounts for two-thirds of all family units in the State. There is also evidence to show that large numbers of cohabitants go on to marry, especially after having a child. Rumours of the demise of the traditional family unit are exaggerated.

Too often, Ireland has played catch-up when it comes to legislating to accommodate social change.

In the past, legislators have tended to avoid drawing up policies relating to anything outside of the traditional family unit. Possibly this was due to provisions in de Valera’s Constitution which pledged to protect the marital family unit from attack.

As a result, same-sex couples and cohabitants were invisible in the eyes of the law. This, in turn, meant they were treated much less favourably than married couples’ spouses in areas ranging from taxation to tenancy rights.

The enactment of various pieces of legislation in recent years has helped to address this, but it would be wrong to assume this work is completed. On the contrary, as yesterday’s report shows, society is continuing to change faster than it was ever imagined.

Policymakers will have their work cut out to keep pace.

Carl O’Brien is chief reporter