Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ireland since 16 November 2015. A referendum on 22 May 2015 amended the Constitution of Ireland to provide that marriage is recognised irrespective of the sex of the partners. The measure was signed into law by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, as the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 August 2015. The Marriage Act 2015, passed by the Oireachtas on 22 October 2015 and signed into law by the Presidential Commission on 29 October, gave legislative effect to the amendment. Same-sex marriages in Ireland began being recognised from 16 November, and the first marriage ceremonies of same-sex couples in Ireland occurred the following day. Ireland was the eleventh country in Europe and the eighteenth in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.

Civil partnerships, granted under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, gave same-sex couples rights and responsibilities similar, but not equal, to those of civil marriage. The 2011 Irish census revealed 143,600 cohabiting couples, up from 77,000 in 2002. This included 4,042 in same-sex relationships, up from 1,300.

Background

Law Reform Commission In December 2000, as part of the Second Programme of Law Reform, the government requested the Law Reform Commission of Ireland to examine the rights and duties of cohabitees. In April 2004, the commission published a consultation paper with provisional recommendations on legal issues related to cohabiting relationships. The report included an analysis of issues for same-sex couples. Following responses, the final report was launched in December 2006 by Justice Minister Michael McDowell.

The consultation proposals called for legal 'presumed' recognition of "qualifying" cohabiting relationships. "Qualifying cohabitees" were defined as unmarried same-sex or opposite-sex cohabiting couples in a 'marriage-like' relationships of 2 years (or 3 years in some cases), to be determined by the courts. The commission reviewed such areas as property, succession, maintenance, pensions, social welfare and tax, and recommended some changes in the law to provide rights for qualifying cohabitees. These rights would be applied by the court on application as distinct from the 'automatic' rights of legal marriage. The commission took care not to propose anything which would equate cohabitation with marriage due to concerns that such a proposal might violate the constitutional protection of the family. The paper also included recommendations on other steps that cohabiting couples should take, including writing wills and defining power of attorney, among others.

Constitutional review The all-party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, re-established in December 2002, was conducting a review of the entire Constitution of Ireland. In October 2004, it invited submissions on the articles related to the family. Chairman Denis O'Donovan stated that it was examining these articles "to ascertain the extent to which they are serving the good of individuals and the community, with a view to deciding whether changes in them would bring about a greater balance between the two." Among the many issues raised by the committee were the definition of the family and the rights of same-sex couples to marry.

The relevant provisions were Articles 40.3, 41 and 42. Article 41 states:

The committee held oral hearings in spring 2005 and received an unexpectedly large volume of written submissions with at least 60% being opposed to any constitutional changes to marriage or the family, including from members of Pro Life Campaign, Family Solidarity and the Mother and Child Campaign. The final report, the tenth interim report of the committee, was launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on 24 January 2006. It recommended no change to the constitutional definitions, as it expected such a referendum to fail. It suggested that there should instead be legislation for a civil partnership registration open to same-sex or opposite-sex couples which would confer succession, maintenance and taxation rights. Controversially, it also recommended that the 'presumed' recognition of cohabiting partners by the courts, as recommended by the Law Reform Commission, should also be legislated for, but only for opposite-sex couples. The basis for the limitation was that it would be easy for the courts to determine the validity of an opposite-sex relationship if there were children.

Colley Report

On 20 December 2005, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell announced that he was creating a working group in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to provide options for government consideration. This announcement came on the day after Belfast in Northern Ireland held the first of the new UK civil partnership registration ceremonies. The government said that it would legislate following the report, but Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also said there might not be time to do so before the upcoming election. Chaired by former Teachta Dála Anne Colley, this working group included the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN; ), which said it expected a recommendation for civil marriage. The group facilitated a conference on the topic in May 2006 as input to its reports, which was attended by experts from countries that had introduced civil unions or same-sex marriage. During his speech, McDowell was interrupted by members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians opposed to the government plans.

Initially to report by March 2006, the group presented its report to the government in November 2006. They recommended that a civil partnership scheme would resolve most of the issues for same-sex and cohabiting couples, while providing less benefits than marriage. Offering civil marriage to same-sex couples would be open to a constitutional challenge. They also recommended a legal presumption of partnership for couples who have lived together for three years, or have children together. No recommendations were made for couples in non-conjugal relationships due to lack of research. The cabinet reviewed the report, but no legislation was introduced before the 2007 general election, and in the intervening period the government rejected opposition legislation, saying that legislation should await the Supreme Court appeal in Zappone v. Revenue Commissioners.

Other statutory bodies and NGOs

Since the early 2000s, various statutory bodies have issued reports calling for the recognition of de facto same-sex and opposite-sex relationships, In January 2001, the Equality Authority produced a report on same-sex partnerships in Ireland. In May 2002, it issued its formal report on equality for lesbians, gays and bisexuals, which highlighted the lack of recognition for same-sex couples in Irish law. In a departure from the norm, the report recommended legislative changes. These were to give legal recognition to same-sex couples and to provide equality with married couples in the areas of adoption, inheritance and taxation to eliminate discrimination. Likewise, in April 2003 the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) published a report calling for the implementation of equality policies for gay, lesbian and bisexual people, and for the Law Reform Commission to consider models to achieve equal rights for same-sex couples in its then upcoming report.

In a report on de facto couples presented to the Justice Minister in May 2006, the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which merged with the Equality Authority in 2014 to form the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (), evaluated international standards in dealing with unmarried couples, and assessed the changes needed in Irish law from a human rights perspective. The Commission called for legal recognition of all de facto relationships, but did not call for civil marriage to be made available to same-sex couples. The IHRC also released a report on the civil partnership scheme in January 2009. Legal recognition of partnership rights and addressing inequalities in family law were a strategic objective of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) for 2004–2009. In a December 2004 submission, it welcomed the Law Reform proposals, but said that registered unions were necessary. In a 2005 radio interview, it added that full civil marriage would not be likely to succeed in a referendum. However, its May 2006 report on the issue, "Equality for All Families" () launched by ICCL founder Kader Asmal, called for legislated partnership registration and revisions to the constitutional provisions on civil marriage and the family, to give improved protection to children. This revision, which might require a referendum, should include a right to marry irrespective of sexual orientation.

Civil partnerships

Summary Civil partnerships (, ), introduced by the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, gave same-sex couples rights and responsibilities similar, but not equal to, those of civil marriage. The ability to enter into a civil partnership ended on 16 November 2015. Constitutional protections granted to spouses, such as the spouse of a witness not being compelled to give evidence against their spouse in most cases, is one example of protections granted under civil partnerships. Spouses may further claim privilege in so far as necessary to protect the constitutional right to marital privacy. No such constitutional protections existed for civil partnerships. Further inequalities in relation to the family, immigration and other types of Irish law existed. The legislation also provided rights for participants in long-term cohabiting relationships (opposite-sex or same-sex) who had not entered into a civil partnership or marriage. The following entry focuses primarily on the same-sex civil partnership aspect of the act, as opposed to the cohabitation aspect.

The Civil Partnership Act came into effect on 1 January 2011. It had been expected that the first ceremonies would not take place until April 2011 due to a three-month waiting period required by law for all civil ceremonies. However, the legislation provided a mechanism for exemptions to be sought through the courts, and the first partnership, which was between two men, was registered on 7 February 2011. While this ceremony was carried out publicly in the Civil Registration Office in Dublin,The certificate of the first civil partnership, as registered by the Civil Registration Service. Available at the mainstream media were not present. It was not until 5 April 2011, the date originally anticipated as the date for the first ceremonies, that the media covered a civil partnership. This partnership ceremony, which was between Hugh Walsh and Barry Dignam, also took place in Dublin.

Registration of civil partnerships discontinued on the day same-sex marriage legislation came into effect in November 2015, though existing civil partners are permitted to retain their relationship status, as there is no automatic conversion from a civil partnership to marriage.

Legal history

Position before civil partnerships