Cabinet set to back vote on extending marriage rights

A referendum on extending marriage rights to same-sex couples was set to be triggered by Cabinet today for late next year or early 2015.

Ministers were expected to accept the recommendation of the Constitutional Convention to hold a national poll on the issue.

The Cabinet was poised to approve the constitutional showdown for some time between Sept 2014 and Apr 2015. The reality of the political timetable means the referendum would either be held in October next year or Mar 2015.

Ministers are expected to wait until spring before deciding on the exact date.

The issue is being brought to Cabinet by Justice Minister Alan Shatter and one of the key factors to be ironed out centres on parenting rights, which has caused tensions in the Coalition.

The Cabinet will also need to consider whether to have gay marriage as a standalone vote, or include it with a series of other constitutional reforms pushed by the convention.

The move came as Constitutional Convention chairman Tom Arnold said no more referenda should be held until a voter “re-engagement drive” is launched.

After calling gay marriage the “civil rights issue” of this generation, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore initially said he favoured a referendum on the matter in 2014.

At a Labour Youth conference at the weekend he floated the idea of holding the poll in early 2015.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has refused to say where he stands on extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, insisting it must be discussed by Cabinet first.

France and England and Wales recently legalised civil marriage between same-sex couples.

With the convention also recommending referenda on issues like reducing the voting age to 16, modernising references to the role of women in the Constitution, and allowing citizens living abroad to take part in presidential elections, Mr Arnold said the matter of disengagement by the electorate needed to be addressed before such questions were put to the people.

“There is a very strong concern about the lack of engagement,” Mr Arnold told RTÉ.

The convention chairman said ways of making it easier for people to vote should also be investigated.