Ten years on: Government must act on LGBTQ+ family rights

Ten years on: Government must act on LGBTQ+ family rights - The Labour Party

Labour Senator Laura Harmon has marked the tenth anniversary of Ireland’s historic Marriage Equality Referendum by calling on the Government to urgently address ongoing legal inequalities faced by LGBTQ+ families. Speaking from Leinster House today, Senator Harmon urged the Government to progress Labour’s Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Bill 2023, which aims to ensure all children have equal legal recognition of their parents.

Senator Harmon said:

“Ten years ago, Ireland made history by voting for marriage equality. Labour was proud to champion that referendum, lead a strong campaign, and celebrate the resounding victory for love and equality. But the fight for full equality goes on.

“The Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 was a step forward, but it left many LGBTQ+ families behind. More than half of children born into LGBTQ+ families still cannot have a legal parent-child relationship with both parents. This is manifestly unfair and contradicts the spirit of equality that the Irish people voted for in 2015.

“This legal inequality is not just symbolic. It affects children’s rights to citizenship, inheritance, and protection in cases of parental separation or death. For non-biological parents, the lack of legal recognition amplifies everyday parenting worries.

“Labour’s Children and Family Relationships (Amendment) Bill 2023 seeks to close these critical gaps. It offers a comprehensive solution for same-sex families with children born or conceived abroad, outside clinical settings, or through known donors prior to May 2020. This boils down to one simple question – should the children born to LGBTQ+ couples have one legal parent or two? It is that simple.

“Ten years on from marriage equality, rights haven’t progressed as hoped. And across the world there is a definite rowing back of rights, what’s happening in Hungary is really frightening.

“Government cannot continue kicking this can down the road. In the spirit of the referendum, we must ensure all families are treated equally. Like many historically marginalised groups in Ireland, the LGBTQ+ community has had to fight for its rights. Labour has always and will always stand with them—whether for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, legal protections from employment discrimination, the right to marry, or gender recognition laws. But they should not have to fight for equal treatment.”