A cháirde,

Cuireann sé an-áthas orm a bheith anseo libh inniu. Is mór an onóir dom gur iarr sibh orm bhur dTuairisc Bhliaintiúil 2006 a sheoladh.

I was delighted to accept Kieran Rose’s invitation on behalf of the Board and members of GLEN to be with you here today and to formally launch GLEN’s Annual Report for 2006.

I would like to congratulate your new Managing Director, Brian Sheehan and to wish him well in his new role. I would also like to thank, on behalf of my Department, your outgoing Managing Director, Keith O’Malley, for his excellent work and generosity of spirit.

The publication of an Annual Report is an opportunity to reflect upon the significant achievements of the past year and consider the challenges for the future.

The work undertaken by GLEN in 2006 covers the whole spectrum of public and private life.
· Through its  membership of the Colley Working Group, your organisation made an enormous contribution to the development of the Options Paper on Domestic Partnership, which was published by my predecessor, Michael McDowell in November 2006
· Throughout the year, GLEN also continued its valuable engagement with the Stamp Out Stigma campaign and HIV Services and you launched a major campaign to combat homophobic bullying in schools.
· At local level, GLEN supported community development projects in Galway, Roscommon and Mayo.

My Department has enjoyed a worthwhile, constructive engagement with GLEN over the past few years. In 2006 this was brought to a new level with our funding of a policy liaison post in GLEN, to facilitate contact between Government Departments and public agencies, and representatives of groups supporting gay the gay community. I am very pleased with the way GLEN and the Departments concerned, have engaged with each other in reviewing the details of policies for their impact on gays and lesbians. In this regard, I understand much credit is due to the able leadership of Eoin Collins in this endeavour.

GLEN has ensured that, in considering the impact of public policies, we never forget that individual persons, men and women, lie behind the statistics.

In considering appointments to the Board of the Equality Authority earlier this year, I was conscious of the lead role the Authority has to play in contributing to a society where diversity is valued and where those experiencing discrimination can instead experience and enjoy equality and inclusion. I was very pleased to appoint Kieran Rose to the Board and provide an opportunity for the wider community to benefit from his great experience and commitment to equality for all.

Looking at the challenges that still face us, I would like to reflect briefly on some other developments since December 2006.

This Government, as our Agreed Programme for Government reflects, is committed to full equality of opportunity for all in our society. In particular, we are committed to providing a more supportive and secure legal environment for same-sex couples.

We have made a specific commitment in the Programme for Government to legislate for Civil Partnerships at the earliest possible date in the lifetime of the Government. The previous government, as you know, had proposed awaiting the outcome of the Supreme Court decision in the Zappone case. But in our negotiations on the formation of the Government with the Green party, we agreed that such delay was not necessary and that legislation should be introduced as quickly as possible. Work is now underway in my Department and I can confirm that the heads of the Civil Partnership bill will be published by the end of March.

I know there has been some criticism of our proposal and I would like to address that now:

I have listened very carefully to those who argue for civil marriage for same sex couples. I understand the argument on its own terms and I accept that those who put forward this argument do so out of the highest and sincerely held motives.

But as the Minister with responsibility for law reform, I have to bring in a law that is consistent with our constitution. The advice of successive Attorney’s General is that same sex marriage would not be constitutional. Within our Constitution, marriage has a very specific judicial meaning and that meaning does not encompass same sex marriage. I know the Zappone case has been appealed to the Supreme Court but the advice available to me is that the High Court ruling in that case will not be overturned. We could await the outcome and I note that some of your members have said we should, but as I said earlier, the Government believes we should make progress on this matter at an early date.

It is my strong belief, based on sound legal advice, that gay marriage would require constitutional change and in my view a referendum on this issue at this time would be divisive and unsuccessful and furthermore, would jeopardise the progress we have made over the last fifteen years. And we need to remind ourselves that considerable progress has been made: who would have thought when my distinguished predecessor, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn decriminalised homosexuality in 1994, that just 13 years on we would be discussing the legal recognition by the State of same sex partnerships. That is progress and we should build on it.

I believe equality for same sex couples can be achieved through a diversity of legal arrangements and I am very keen that in the interests to your community we should proceed now to bring in a law that will give recognition and protection to same sex couples who are involved in loving stable relationships. Indeed, I believe it is the responsibility of the State to provide a supportive legal framework for such relationships. That is the view of this Government and that is why the Agreed Programme for Government has committed us to making progress on this matter as quickly as possible.

As I said already, work is progressing on the Civil Partnership Bill. It will deal with two key issues. The first is to establish a Civil Partnership Registration Scheme for same sex couples. This is effectively establishing a status relationship: couples can choose to formalise their relationships and to undertake mutual rights and obligations, to obtain legal recognition for their relationship, and to avail of legal benefits and protection. The Civil Partnership Scheme will provide for a range of legal consequences flowing from registration and will include a package of measures in relation to tax, pensions, benefits and property in common, as well as mutual and enforceable obligations.

Establishment of Civil Partnership will be a major step forward for same-sex couples, whose relationships currently go unrecognised in the eyes of the State for most purposes.

As well as providing for registration, the legislation will also have to deal with the legal consequences of break-up. These will be significant, just as the rights, obligations and benefits of registering will be significant. Former civil partners may potentially be liable for maintenance, and proceedings for termination of a civil partnership could involve property and pension adjustment orders. The consequences of terminating a partnership may be grave, reflecting the importance of the commitment made through registration.

The second matter to be included in the Bill is the establishment of a "Redress Scheme" for qualified cohabitants, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission this time last year in its Report on the Rights and Duties of Cohabitants. The key aim of the redress scheme is to provide protection for vulnerable dependent cohabitants at the end of a relationship, whether by break-up or by death. The redress scheme will provide a safety-net to allow qualified cohabitants to seek maintenance, or to apply for provision to be made for them from the estate of a deceased partner. The Redress Scheme will be available to qualified cohabitants irrespective of gender and sexual orientation. It will seek to achieve a balance between protecting vulnerable partners while respecting their choice not to regulate their relationships either by marriage or through civil partnership.

The legislation will be complex, because of the range of rights and obligations to be provided and the wide variety of existing legislation which must be taken into account. As I’ve said work is proceeding on the Heads and we will meet the March 2008 schedule agreed by the Government.

2007 has also been a year in which we have marked the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. The President, Dr McAleese, yesterday brought formal events marking the Year in Ireland to a close.

The 2007 European Year sought to make people across the European Union more aware of their right to equal treatment and to a life free of discrimination. These are two of the basic principles underpinning the EU. The Year also launched a major debate on the benefits of diversity, both for societies and for individuals.

The activities undertaken during the Year were intended to remedy the discrimination from which some individuals suffer, because of their gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. These are grounds for discrimination that may be addressed at European level and europeans have a fundamental right to enjoy equal treatment and a life free of discrimination.

The 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All aimed to ensure that we all know this. For a whole year, the spotlight was put on equal opportunities and the benefits for Europe as a whole of a diverse society.

As the slogan for the Year in Ireland, "Play your Part", emphasised, this European Year has also been about involving the general public in open debate on the meaning of diversity and on ways of valuing differences in contemporary Irish society. Ireland has a rich array of talents. We cannot afford to let these go to waste.

GLEN has indeed continued to play its part, and has continued to show a creative and imaginative approach to developing equality in Ireland and bringing the appreciation of diversity into the mainstream. In championing new ideas, such as its recent engagement with the Dublin Employment Pact’s conference on the Creative City Region, which showcased the theories of Prof Richard Florida on openness to diversity, particularly to gay and lesbian communities, as a major factor in economic and social success, GLEN is promoting a vision where gays and lesbian groups, and other minority groups, are active participants in a successful Ireland, rather than managers of their own marginalisation.

I will conclude by congratulating the Board and the members of GLEN on your many achievements in 2006 and I wish you the very best for the coming year.

Thank you.

4 December 2007