Posted on 07/18/2007 5:20:36 PM PDT by kiriath_jearim
The Irish Prime Minister yesterday pledged to bring in new laws to legalise civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples.
Bertie Ahern, opening a gay community centre in Dublin, said that he wanted to move as quickly as possible on the issue.
He told the assembled crowd: "This Government is committed to providing a more supportive and secure legal environment for same-sex couples.
"Taking into account the Options Paper prepared by the Colley Group, and the pending Supreme Court case, we will legislate for Civil Partnerships at the earliest possible date in the lifetime of this Government," he said.
The court case refers to a lesbian couple, Drs Katherine Zappone and Anne Louise Gilligan, who have lodged an appeal with the countrys Supreme Court, challenging the High Courts decision that their Canadian marriage is not valid.
In February an attempt to legalise same sex unions in the Republic of Ireland was defeated.
Homosexuality was only decriminalised in the Republic of Ireland in 1993, but since then the country has embraced gay rights.
Both discrimination and incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation are illegal.
A recent opinion poll found 84% in favour of some sort of recognition for lesbian and gay couples.
Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, has had same-sex civil partnerships since December 2005.
Last year Mr Ahern explained his views on homosexuality and said he wanted to attract more gay candidates to his Fianna Fail party.
"Our sexual orientation is not an incidental attribute. It is an essential part of who we are. All citizens, regardless of sexual orientation, stand equal in the eyes of our laws," he said.
"Sexual orientation cannot, and must not, be the basis of a second-class citizenship. Our laws have changed, and will continue to change, to reflect this principle."
Bertie Ahern was once again sworn in as Taoiseach, or Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland, on June 14th, after the Green party agreed to join a coalition government under his leadership.
He has held the position since 1997.
The formation of a new administration followed weeks of negotiations among the country's political parties.
It is the first time the Greens form part of the government Mr Ahern has a majority of just one in the newly-elected Dail.
Oh for crying out loud.
When I read the title, I thought ireland was going to rejoin the UK in some limited way.
Says it all
Sure, Ireland needs more of these freaks. - take ours.
OMG....Ireland was going to be my refuge.
Is there any group of people these Europeans will stand up to? It’s like they have not only lost their common sense, they’ve lost the capacity to determine right from wrong.
Which tells you how fast Ireland has gone to hell in a handbasket.
Patrick Fitzmaurice and Maurice Fitzpatrick.
“Patrick Fitzmaurice and Maurice Fitzpatrick.”
***
Well, Fitz me-push you!
Oh yeah? Well, push me-Fitz you!
50 years ago, Ireland was a third world country. 20 years ago, Ireland was still one of the poorest countries in Western Europe.
Today Ireland is, after tiny Luxembourg, the second richest country in the world.
Ireland now has a higher per capita GDP than the United States of America. It's gone to hell in a handbasket you say?
“Ireland now has a higher per capita GDP than the United States of America. It’s gone to hell in a handbasket you say?”
****
Hasn’t the prosperity been based mostly upon foreign investments in Ireland? American high-tech firms such as Microsoft and others built facilities in Ireland some years back.
“The Irish Prime Minister yesterday pledged to bring in new laws to legalise civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples.”
How nice!! Now you need to legalize civil partnerships between two brothers, a dad and his l7 year old daughter (the age of consent in Ireland), three women and their “husband”, etc.
It’s ONLY FAIR!!!
(sarc)
pink news????
“pink news????”
****
Yeah, I know...but I found out about it on the FR thread on Brit PM Gordon Brown’s promised crackdown on homophobia. So I looked up the PinkNews website. There’s a lot of gay-related political news there. Seems like a good source for the “homosexualagenda” keyword.
Absolutely -- and the European Union has poured in far more money than US firms have.
However, the investment only happened because Ireland created incentives for investment. Moreover, Ireland has managed its wealth wisely. Plenty of other countries have received large amounts of foreign aid and investment (Greece, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Senegal are nice places to start) and have done nothing with the money.
I always considered Ireland because abortion is illegal. I guess I’ll cross Ireland off the list. Poland is still a family friendly country.
Moral relativism rears its ugly head.
And who needs faith and values when they have plenty of money?
I’d venture to say Ireland still does better in that matter than most of Continental Europe and the UK.
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