The Deputy will appreciate that the requirements of the provisions in the Constitution are such that there may be constraints on what can be done to deal with the position of those who live together outside marriage. The position has been the subject of examination in the recent report of the Constitution Review Group which, while appreciating the point of view of those who feel that persons living in family units not based on marriage should have constitutional recognition, points out that the constitutional protection of rights of any family unit other than a family based on marriage represents significant difficulties of definition and policy.
The group makes certain recommendations which fall short of equating the position of, say, cohabitants with married couples. It recommends retention of Article 41 of the Constitution to guard the institution of marriage with special care, subject to a provision that this should not prevent the Oireachtas from legislating for the benefit of families not based on marriage. The group's final report now falls to be considered by the all-party Oireachtas committee on the Constitution.
Our inheritance laws give special rights to spouses, children — including children of a non-marital union — and certain other relatives. While those special rights do not extend to cohabitants, the law in relation to testate succession already permits succession by cohabitants where those special family rights are not infringed. It may be a matter for consideration as to whether the law can and should go further in the case of intestacy but there could be considerable difficulties in framing such a law. I have asked the Law Society for views on the operation of our succession laws and I propose in due course to take those consultations and other relevant views into account in any proposals for amending legislation that I may bring forward. My Department has no responsibilities in relation to pensions other than in relation to provisions which I initiated in the context of marital breakdown in our judicial separation laws as contained in the Family Law Act, 1995, and in our divorce laws as contained in the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996. The Departments of Finance and Social Welfare have responsibilities which shape overall policy in relation to pensions.
In so far as policy generally in relation to the family is concerned, as well as the changing nature of the family, the Government established the Commission on the Family to examine needs and priorities. The commission has been asked to make its final report to the Government by June 1997 and its recommendations will fall to be considered by relevant Departments in due course.
Relevant aspects of the law in relation to cohabitants, taking into account the constitutional restraints, is the subject of review on an ongoing basis in my Department. That approach has resulted in the important safety and barring order provisions in the Domestic Violence Act, 1996, being extended to cohabitants for their protection from violent partners. Garda powers of arrest in cases of violence against cohabitants have also been strengthened. I initiated also provisions now contained in the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act, 1996, the effect of which are that certain cohabitants may, in fatal injury actions, claim damages as compensation for loss of pecuniary benefits, for mental distress and for funeral expenses where the death of the other cohabitant is caused by the wrongful act of a person. There are aspects of the law in relation to guardianship which I have also had reviewed by my Department and the results will be announced as soon as possible in the context of publication of the Children (No. 2) Bill. Other aspects of the laws which apply to cohabitants will be developed, with a view to legislative changes, as may be feasible and warranted as other legislative priorities permit.