The concept of Civil Partnership was introduced into Irish law by the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010.
Civil partnership applied only to same sex couples and was introduced to allow same sex couples to enter into a formal ‘partnership’ which provided for certain rights and obligations between same-sex couples, but stopping short of marriage. It was introduced into law at time when marriage was restricted to opposite sex couples.
The 34th Amendment to the Constitution was passed on 22 May 2015 which amended the Constitution to allow for same-sex marriage. The Marriage Act, 2015 was then enacted to amend the law to permit same-sex marriages. As a consequence, the concept of Civil Partnership effectively became redundant and Section 8 of the 2015 Act abolished future civil partnerships.
The law governing Civil Partnerships therefore now only applies to those same-sex couples who entered into a civil partnership between 2010 and 2015.
At Donagh McGowan Solicitors, we can advise on all issues arising from the breakdown of a civil partnership.
