asked the Minister for Justice if he will outline his legislative programme in the area of marital breakdown in the light of the outcome of the referendum on the tenth amendment of the Constitution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Marital Breakdown.
6.
The Government intend to bring forward legislation to deal with the matters, other than divorce, that are mentioned in the recent Statement on Government's Intentions with regard to Marriage, Separation and Divorce.
Could the Minister indicate over what period he proposes to introduce legislation in view of the urgency of many of the issues raised in the document? In view of the defeat of the proposed change in the Constitution, what legislative proposals has he to deal with the regularising of second relationships which have developed in the absence of divorce?
As the Taoiseach has said in the House, the Government's intention is to bring forward this legislation during the autumn session. With regard to the second part of the Deputy's question, I am not 100 per cent clear as to what he means. I cannot conceive — if I may use the word without giving offence — of any legislation which could in the present circumstances "regularise" a number of second unions that the Deputy appears to have in mind, if they follow on a valid marriage.
Perhaps I was too vague in my question. Can the Minister assure us that under no circumstances will we enter the sham of trying to regularise Roman Catholic nullities in the law? Perhaps he will indicate also that we may introduce separate civil proceedings for all marriages in the State so that there is no confusion between religious ceremonies of marriage and the civil marriage ceremony.
The latter part seems to be a separate question.
I think I can answer directly by saying to the Deputy that one of the matters I will be considering in the context of bringing forward this legislation is the report of the Law Reform Commission on nullity of marriage and the references to that subject, that is civil nullity, in the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Marriage Breakdown. In various places throughout the country over the last eight or nine weeks, including this Chamber, I have given the opinion that there are certain areas where it would be impossible to align the civil law of nullity with the provisions of Canon Law for a number of different reasons that I do not think I should go into.
Will the Minister indicate whether at this point the heads of a Bill in any one of the areas he talks about in the legislative programme being planned for the autumn are prepared? How far on is that procedure?
I am not in a position to give an answer to a question like that, as the Deputy knows. I have indicated clearly that there are a number of areas where we intend to bring forward proposals for legislation in the autumn. I have not yet put specific proposals for that legislation to the Government.
The Minister missed one of the points I raised, whether in the proposed legislative programme it is intended to provide for separate civil marriage ceremonies in all cases so that there is no confusion between what is going on in a church ceremony.
That point is being considered.
Is the Minister aware that the Sunday before last his leader said that he had heads of a Bill almost ready or in some sort of ready stage? Perhaps he will check with the Taoiseach who made that statement on national radio.
The Deputy is good at parsing and analysing these statements. It is a pity he did not spend more of his energies in the last eight weeks parsing and analysing statements because then he would not be saying these things now.
I did but the Minister would not listen to me.
I do not intend to fall into the trap of a smart aleck question by the Deputy. I have already told the House that I have not yet put proposals before the Government that would lead to this legislation. What the Deputy wants to make of that for his own purposes is his own affair.
The Taoiseach made a statement——
I am glad the Deputy listened to him.
I was on just before him so I could not help listening to him.
The Deputy also made a few more remarks.