Vol. 448 No. 3
20 Dr. Woods asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to introduce proposals for a divorce referendum; the estimated cost of the Referendum; and if provision for these costs has been included in the Government's Estimates for 1995. [1976/95]
25 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the matters, if any, he intends to propose in referenda; the likely time schedule for these referenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1966/95]
26 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform his views on whether the necessary legislation is now in place in order to ensure a successful conclusion to the divorce referendum; if not, the new proposals, if any, he intends to bring forward; and if he has set a date for the referendum. [1988/95]
41 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform if he will hold a meeting with the leaders of the Opposition parties to discuss the forthcoming referendum on divorce. [1886/95]
81 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform his views on when the proposed divorce referendum will take place; if he has presented draft proposals to Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2012/95]
86 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform if his Department has sought or received any submissions on marital breakdown and the right to remarry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1980/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 25, 26, 41, 81 and 86 together.
The policy document A Government of Renewal makes clear that the Government is committed to holding a referendum on divorce in this year.
A Cabinet sub-committee chaired by me has been established to make recommendations to the Government on proposals for the referendum. The sub-committee has begun work on the matter and will be reporting to the Government as quickly as possible. The details of the Government's decision on the constitutional referendum proposal will be made known in due course by way of publication of the Bill to amend the Constitution.
The definitive proposals of the Government for an amendment of the Constitution on divorce must, of course, be in the form of a Bill since a precondition of the holding of any referendum is the initiation of a Bill in the House. The date of publication of that Bill will be determined largely by the date on which the Government proposes to hold the referendum. The timing of the referendum will take account, as may be necessary, of the case that is under appeal to the Supreme Court concerning provisions in the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989.
The cost of holding the referendum is provided for out of the central fund which is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance.
Provision of £500,000 is made in my Department's Estimates for a Government information programme in the run-up to the divorce referendum. That figure is contained in the 1995 Book of Estimates. The heads of expenditure will be on similar lines to those in recent referenda which provides for press and billboard advertisement and information booklets and leaflets.
A considerable framework of laws on marriage breakdown already exists by way of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989 and other legislation concerning maintenance and protection of spouses and children and protection of the family home. The White Paper on Marital Breakdown — 1992 — gives an overview of those laws and of administrative procedures such as legal aid, mediation and counselling. Since publication of that paper major advances have been made on implementation of measures to better protect and support families. Many of those measures are the responsibility of my Department. The matters currently in progress give a good idea of how much progress is being made. In that context I should like to mention that the Family Law Bill, 1994 is before the House at Report Stage. It has measures aimed at protecting and safeguarding the institution of marriage. It raises the age of marriage from 16 years to 18 years and provides for notice of marriage. It provides substantial powers to the courts to deal with financial consequences of marriage breakdown in cases where a foreign decree of divorce is entitled to recognition in the State.
In substance those powers will be the same as the powers in any legislation on domestic divorce. They include wide powers in relation to maintenance, inheritance, and property generally, including the family home and pensions. The Bill repeals and re-enacts with amendments provisions in the Judicial Separation Act of 1989. The amendments include new provisions giving the courts powers in separation proceedings to make orders in relation to pensions.
Provisions dealing comprehensively with the tax aspects of marriage breakdown — capital gains, capital acquisition and probate tax and stamp duty — have been drafted and have been tabled for incorporation into the Family Law Bill, 1994 by way of amendments on Report Stage. They will be model provisions for any divorce legislation.
The Department of Social Welfare is preparing heads of legislation to ensure that no spouse will be disadvantaged in terms of his or her social welfare entitlements as a result of his or her legal status being changed from married, separated or deserted to divorced. Those provisions are required as a follow-on of provisions in the Family Law Bill, 1994 and, again, would be model provisions in the case of provision in our law for domestic divorce.
The Maintenance Act, 1994 was enacted by me in November 1994 and enables ratification of EU and UN Conventions which will make it easier to recover maintenance from a person living abroad. Arrangements are now being made by the Department of Foreign Affairs to have the conventions ratified.
The domestic violence Bill is at an advanced stage of drafting and will be published as soon as possible. It will strengthen the powers of the court to make orders for protection of persons and will strengthen the powers of arrest of the Garda in such cases.
I am glad to say that the Bill to put the scheme of civil legal aid and advice on a statutory footing will be published in the next few days.
A sum of £6.2 million has been provided in this year's Book of Estimates for the Legal Aid Board. The unprecedented increase in funding which I secured in 1994 allowed the board to provide a total of ten new full-time and four part-time law centres. The 1995 funding will also allow the opening of additional new centres.
A special provision of £750,000, an increase of 150 per cent on the previous year's funding was provided in 1994 for the assistance of bodies involved in marriage guidance and counselling to enable them to expand their services and a sum of £750,000 is also provided in this year's Estimates.
Development plans for the family mediation service were also put in place in 1994 with significantly increased funding of £300,000. That figure is proposed to be maintained in 1995 to allow for further developments.
All avenues of approach to the problem of marriage breakdown are under active consideration by the Government. The policy is to address the problem as comprehensively as possible so as to meet all needs. In that context the policy considerations are not confined to questions of reform of the law but extend also to the areas such as tax and social welfare codes, our education programmes and voluntary services. Submissions continue to be made to me from persons and groups in support of changes to tackle the various issues involved in marriage breakdown and these are being taken into account in the formulation of policy within my Department.
During the previous Government I consulted with the leaders of the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party and the Fianna Fáil Party including its present leader. However, I would be happy to consult with the leader of every party who wishes to meet me.
Can the Minister give the House any indication of when he expects the referendum to be held and when he expects to be in a position to publish his proposals?
As I said in my reply, the Programme for Government provides that the referendum will be held in 1995. The final date to be determined must await consideration of a number of matters, not least of which is the still pending appeal in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989. In the High Court the claim of alleged unconstitutionality of the Act was unsuccessful but an appeal was made to the Supreme Court which is still pending. I understand an application is to be made to the Supreme Court to seek a speedy hearing of that action but I cannot say or prejudge what date may be fixed for the hearing of that appeal or when that judgement may be given. Those are the considerations that apply. I can assure the House that it is the Government's intention to proceed with the referendum as soon as all necessary procedures, including the disposition of that appeal, are in place.
Does the Minister intend dealing with the issues concerning the family home remaining to be resolved which I know he is very anxious to resolve in the first instance?
Following the unconstitutionality of the previous Bill has the Minister any proposals to remedy the position, given that no action can be taken in this area? What are the Minister's plans regarding the position of the family home in advance of holding a referendum?
The position regarding the family home and its disposition on marital breakdown is covered in the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989. The intent of the matrimonial homes Bill, which, regrettably, was found unconstitutional, was to deal with the disposition of the family home in non-breakdowns. Under the terms of the 1989 Act the family home and its contents, the family business, the family farm, bank accounts, insurance policies and all aspects of matrimonial property are on the table for division, as appropriate, at the discretion of the courts. Those dispositions of the family home, family business and so on are dealt with daily in the Circuit Courts. No new action in the event of marital breakdown is required in the case of the family home. The only aspect of property not covered under the 1989 Act is the difficult question of pensions and that remaining item of property is being addressed in the Family Law Bill, on Report Stage in the House tomorrow. On completion of that Bill, all property, including pensions and the matrimonial home and its contents will be available for disposition by the courts in the event of separation and in the event of divorce. This will happen immediately in the case of foreign divorces recognised here and ultimately, if the referendum is passed, in the case of domestic divorces.
The Minister will realise that social welfare entitlements are very important in this debate. Is it his intention that legislation will be brought before the House and passed in advance of the proposed referendum or is it merely a matter to which the Government is committed?
My understanding is that legislation on social welfare questions, on which I had many lengthy discussions with the Deputy in his prior incarnation, will be brought to the House and completed before a referendum. The thrust of such legislation will be to ensure — and I understand it will — that no person will lose out in a social welfare context as a result of a change in status from married to separated or deserted to divorced. The question as to whether a separate Bill will be introduced to deal with that or if it will be incorporated in the main social welfare Bill has yet to be determined. It is intended to enact such legislation and to have it in place in advance of the referendum. Initially the application of such legislation will be confined to the case of foreign divorces recognised here because, obviously, one could not introduce social welfare legislation dealing with domestic divorces unless and until the proposed referendum is held and passed. The format of the legislation in terms of laying down the rules in the case of foreign divorces recognised here will be the format and base plan extended to domestic divorces in the event of a "yes" vote when a referendum takes place.
We will now deal with Question No. 21. I am sorry I cannot entertain supplementary questions at this time from any Deputy other than those who tabled priority questions.
