Two guides to civil partnership and cohabitation will provide
valuable information for gay, lesbian and bisexual people as well as for
legal practitioners, Chief Justice Mrs Justice Susan Denham said last
night.She was launching Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 by Dr Fergus Ryan; and Know Your Rights, published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Glen,the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network.
Mrs Justice Denham said all families could be “challenged by weakness, violence, medical or legal difficulties, poverty or greater societal challenges.
“As with every other family grouping in society, we now have a series of protections and responsibilities for gay and lesbian couples – not just in relation to the State, but also relating to each other,” she said.
The leaflets would be “very useful references”.
Mrs Justice Denham also highlighted the stresses on families around Christmas time “caused by emigration, social isolation, relationship difficulties, or the simple confusion of break-up”.