Civil Partnership Bill passed despite heated exchanges in Seanad

THE bill to provide civil partnerships and increased rights for same-sex couples has been passed by the Oireachtas but only after an extraordinarily ill-tempered debate in the Seanad.

Independent Senator Ronan Mullen was accused of filibustering in a bid to block the bill after speaking at length throughout the debate.

On one proposed amendment alone, he spoke for more than 30 minutes and quoted the soliloquy from Hamlet.