Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern is to amend the Civil Partnership Bill, to relax the obligations that cohabiting couples would face under the legislation.The bill imposes significant legal liabilities on all couples living together for three years in respect of rights to property, maintenance payments, a share of pension entitlements or a claim on an estate.
However, Ahern is expected to extend the three-year period to five years when the section of the bill dealing with cohabitation are discussed at committee stage in the Dáil.
A spokesman for Ahern would not comment on specific changes, but said that ‘‘the minister raised the issue with officials earlier this week and discussions have taken place.
The matter will be looked at intently at committee stage of the bill."
Ahern is also to rename the legislation the Civil Partnership and Cohabitation Bill, in order to underline the seriousness of the legislation for couples living together. The move follows proposals from Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan.
‘‘It is important that couples living together in a relationship are aware of the changes," Flanagan said. ‘‘Most are in the dark and may well be shocked at the legal consequences of the bill."
There is concern in some quarters over the extent of the legal obligations that the legislation will impose on couples living together.
John Bryan, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association, said that couples cohabiting for ‘‘as little as three years’’ would be open to maintenance and property claims similar to those following a marriage break-up.
In response to the IFA’s concerns, Flanagan said: ‘‘There are echoes of what the IFA is saying now in what was said on divorce in the mid-1990s - but that’s not to say that people should not be informed of the far-reaching consequences of this legislation."
Fine Gael TD Denis Naughton, also a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice which is considering the legislation, said the three-year rule was too short and needed to be extended except where a child was involved.
The committee has yet to consider ten sections of the bill relating to same-sex couples before moving on to the cohabiting provisions.
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