Ireland gives legal recognition to same-sex 'civil unions'

By KENNETH HAYNES,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
June 27, 2009

Gay couples in Ireland now have the Irish Government's blessing -- though not the Church's in the heavily Catholic nation -- to be protected by new civil-partnership laws granting their unions legal recognition.

However, the new law does not give "civilly unioned" gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the laws provided "very significant rights to civil partners" in the Irish Republic.

"(The move) provides legal protection for cohabiting couples and is an important step, particularly for same-sex couples, whose relationships have not previously been given legal recognition by the state," Ahern said. the rest