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MINISTER ALAN SHATTER says he will publish the anticipated Child and Family Relationships Bill, new legislation that gives security and rights to all family forms, “very shortly”.
He expects the laws – which will cover the legal status of children in civil partnerships, surrogacy arrangements and assisted human reproduction - to be enacted by the end of this year, ahead of a planned referendum on same-sex marriage in 2015.
Although the imminent piece of legislation doesn’t deal with gay and lesbian marriage, Shatter believes it will clear the path for the Irish public to vote for it because there will be no “extraneous” elements to be debated.
Speaking at an LGBT Parenting conference today, he said, ”There is a simple message about this referendum. This isn’t a complicated issue. It is about one very simple thing.
“Which is whether people of same sex should be allowed celebrate a ceremony that’s called marriage as opposed to a ceremony called civil partnership. There is no other issue that will arise.
“Because much of the issues that do arise have been addressed in the 2010 Act. Any of the other issues in the Children and Family Relationships Bill will be addressed by the end of this year. And they have to be addressed regardless of whether same-sex marriage is introduced.
So as we head into 2015, there will be one issue and one issue only: Do you believe individuals should be allowed to enter same-sex marriages or should we discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation and deny that to them?
He noted that the “roof hasn’t fallen in” since civil partnership was introduced, adding that replacing those unions with marriages will also not lead to the “roof falling in”.
Bill by December 2014
Commenting on this year’s legislation, Shatter said he wants the Oireachtas committee to complete their process of examining the Bill by Easter.
The Equality Minister said he hopes the debate on the issues surrounding the proposed changes will be respectful and will “at no stage descend into an abusive narrative”.
He said he presumes opposing TDs will not emerge from the undergrowth once the 150-page Bill is released. He also told TheJournal.ie that there is support and understanding among Fine Gael and Labour deputies for the legislation, noting that the developments it will bring were signposted in the Programme for Government.
During a questions-and-answers session after his address, audience members thanked the Minister for his courage to bring forward the legislation and put queries to him about their own personal situations.
Two young men asked about their rights to adopt a child together. Although the issue has to be covered separately -through that Department of Children – Shatter said they May issue a Cabinet statement of intent if the heads of Bill are not ready for publication at the same time.
He noted that an individual can adopt a child, regardless of sexual orientation. However, the only couple recognised by adoption rules are married ones, therefore excluding LGBT couples and co-habiting couples.
Asked about inheritance tax, Shatter noted that some of the changes coming from the legislation will have to be subsequently dealt with. For example, in this instance, amendments to the Finance Bill will be required.
Speaking of the so-called, traditional nuclear family, the Fine Gael TD said there is no monopoly on family form. He claimed that the notion of that form came from US advertising and not Ireland’s own history.
“One hundred years ago, children would routinely have been living in families that included parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles,” he explained. “Some would have been reared by grandparents or by aunts and uncles. Children were often sent to childless relatives to be reared when families had too many mouths to feed. That children were often reared in non-traditional families is reflected in the popular culture of the past 150 years which abounds in stories of children growing up successfully in such families.
So Anne of Green Gables flourished in late nineteenth-century Canada when rescued by the middle-aged siblings, Marilla and Matthew. Similarly, in the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s endless quest was to get home, not to a nuclear family but rather to her Aunt Em.
Shatter also revealed that the Wizard of Oz “scared the bejaysus out of him”.
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Testing tracing and tracking, a sure fire way of staying on top of and maintaining control of the virus and the very minute the numbers begin to surge it starts to crumble, it’s been a half hearted effort from the get go, appalling…
@Kate Flaherty: absolutely. Proven method too.
@Kate Flaherty: one word that constantly springs to mind when you think of the HSE is failure.
@Kate Flaherty: not defining them.. but the numbers turn out to be huge… 9thousand cases at peak represent 50k tests a day.
@Rob Buggle: defending….
@Kate Flaherty: Absolutely. Bit I think the issue is broader. Leadership generally in this country over the last 6 months has been pitifully weak. When COVID is finished we need to have a look at our system which allows the Taoiseach to come from a party with absolutely no mandate to lead. A weak character in a very weak position. What do people expect?
@Kate Flaherty: Worldwide issue. How many contact tracers should we have had working immediately after Christmas, keeping in mind that daily cases were in the thousands and many positive cases were reporting up to 40 contacts. Tracing these contacts would have been an enormous task and testing them all would have been physically impossible. Would have led to a massive backlog in tracing, testing and in the labs. But we should have put Kate Flaherty in charge coz…expert.
@Vonvonic: agree or disagree with their policies… I don’t really care, but to suggest he has no mandate is very trumpian.. he reprsents a government with over 50% first preference votes in last election. I don’t like it, but its true.
@Tommy Roche: I’m no expert Tommy, and neither do I claim to be but a fool could see this has all been mismanaged from the get go or do you forget Leo dithering about the place a week before the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade trying to decide whether or not it should go ahead, he’s a physician and there was a novel virus coming our way, they have been reactive from day one and have not been in any way shape or form have then been proactive in any area affected by this pandemic, unless weak and uninspiring…
@Rob Buggle: Trumpian? Lol. You don’t do irony obviously Rob.
@Kate Flaherty: useless not unless…
@Kate Flaherty: You’re 100% on the money.
@Vonvonic: you don’t do proportional representation obviously Von
@Rob Buggle: I definitely don’t do duplicity. “I’m not defending them. I’m just giving you their point of view in a positive light.” You’re fooling noone.
@Rob Buggle: What part of “we need to have a look at our system …” do you want me to explain for you?
So the numbers we are getting at the moment are really only a part of the story!
@MrHammey12: the are using the method they used last March
@MrHammey12: yes
I don’t know is there much point in the testing of close contacts. After all, even if you test negative, you still need to restrict your movements for 14 days. Also, seeing as they do not differentiate between those who carry the virus, SARS-COV-2, and those that develop symptoms of the disease, CoViD-19, I think it is skewing people’s perception of how dangerous the disease can be, as everybody seems to be classing it as CoViD-19, with symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.
@Joe_X: testing of close contacts is important because they find people who are positive BEFORE they have much opportunity to spread the virus.
@Lorraine Mac Rory: What you say is correct, and believe me, when they first started testing close contacts I was in full agreement of it. However, regardless of the close contact’s result, they are still meant to isolate/restrict movements anyway, from the time you have been contacted by the HSE, which stops them spreading the virus. So why not keep the testing for symptomatic cases of CoViD-19, keep the close contacts restriction of movements in place, and possibly we may see a more accurate indication of who is at most risk of CoViD-19. Possibly then report on so many cases of the disease proper, with X amount more cases isolating due to being close contacts.
@Joe_X: you teat the close contacts because if they have the virus then they too have a set of close contacts that need to be tested & isolate If you don’t test the close contacts then this second set may be infected and go spreading it about
@Paddy Cullen AIWS: actually Paddy, that thought never crossed my mind. I had only thought of the primary person and their contacts. I still think they should differentiate between symptomatic sufferers of CoViD-19 and assymptomatic carriers of SARS-COV-2, and not blanket it all as CoViD-19.
Why are they not using oximeters at the time of testing. Immediately the can tell if blood oxygen is compromised and if patient needs to be hospitalised. Early detection means shorter hospital stay. This is being done in NYC. Check out Amanpour show on CNN. Dr Richard Levitan. God can the HSE ever keep up?
@Ted Murphy: there are loads of reasons a person’s O2 saturations might be abnormal that have nothing to do with covid19. We’d end up admitting patients that don’t need to be, and exposing them to covid19 patients in hospitals. A patient may also be on the verge of deteriorating but with normal saturations. A snapshot of O2 saturations is fairly useless on its own, the equipment costs money, that equipment is already needed in hospitals, and there is a (probably very small) possibility of transmitting the virus from one patient to the next via equipment contamination. Also we don’t have any particularly effective treatments, so early detection does not equal shorter stay. It probably means longer stay, as they would be admitted earlier than they may have been otherwise.
@Ted Murphy: I got a pulse oximeter through my pharmacist as we have high risks in the family due to asthma. You can get them online too. Covid-19 in the lungs eats away at the part that takes in O2 first, and then goes to the part that expels CO2. Rising C02 is what causes gasping and shortness of breath. So you can feel fine because CO2 is still getting expelled when your ability to take in O2 goes down. This is called silent hypoxia. By the time 02 rates have plummeted you are in trouble. This progression is unique to Covid-19 and is why people don’t realise they are sick until it’s really bad. Pulse oximeters can help monitor things better and they are cheap: https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.amp.html
Did everyone not realise something was amiss when Ireland’s numbers went from a few thousand a day to 1,500 in a couple of weeks. Said it from the start regardless of the reason we are cooking the books. Like we did in March when we cancelled 50 odd thousand tests after people waiting 10 days and this no longer needed testing
All it needs are the usual numpties to start blithering on about how well we are doing compared to the rest of Europe to really complete the circle.
Did a trip around 5 testing facilities yesterday absolutely none of them where super busy, literally none. What in the name of… is going on? I’ve been in 3 different countries since this all began last January and I have to say Ireland’s response to this is absolutely shambolic. From testing to hospital beds etc everything is amateur in this country, I’m not talking about the frontline staff but nphet and government aided and abetted by media hysteria and an absolutely gullible and scared public.. sick
0.06% of the population of Ireland died “with” vivid since this all began, yet the country is on its knees??
iMask Protocol with Ivermectin..
It obliterates covid… Please check out the FLCCC ALLIANCE
Ivermectin has been known for its anti viral properties for decades especially around sars, if you take this protocol you will not get sick..
The HSE need to move on this NOW
Ivermectin is readily and easily available alongside the other parts of the protocol which include high doses of vit c, vit d3, zinc..etc
The Ivermectin patent ran out in the 90′s… So vaccine vaccine vaccine $$$ the world is run by sick people who at the end of the day only care about profit.. take your health into your own hands with a doctor that is not compromised by pharma..
Doctor Pierre Kory a front line critical care doctor in the states said..” if you take this protocol, you will not get sick, it obliterates covid”
have your say