Sinn Féin spokesperson for LGBTQI rights Senator Fintan Warfield and spokesperson for Employment and Social Protection John Brady TD have welcomed the passing of the Civil Registration Bill 2019 in the Dáil recently. The bill fixes typographical errors in the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 so that it may be commenced – four years after its passage. Sinn Féin secured an amendment that would see the Act finally commenced by 6th October 2019 at the latest.
Senator Warfield said: “The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 was a pivotal act that ensures that certain same sex couples could both be recognised legally on their child’s birth cert. Four years on, this Act has yet to be commenced by government and LGBTQI families have continued in a legal limbo without recognition or rights. “Sinn Féin passed a key amendment last night that ensures that a deadline on the commencement of 6th October 2019 or earlier is legally binding and that the four years these families have struggled can finally come to an end in the next six months. “We now turn our focus to the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, which will give recognition to another cohort of LGBTQI families still awaiting recognition.”
Deputy Brady said: “The fact that this Act has languished for four years while families remained legally vulnerable is disgraceful. The hurt held by families was not helped by the Department of Health declaring six separate deadlines for commencement and missing them all. “The amendment ensures that the government negligence regarding this issue cannot continue and these families can proceed with some degree of certainty.”
