We must defend the status of marriage

PROPOSALS to redefine the family in the constitution should be approached with the utmost caution.

We should not risk reducing the status of the family to the lowest common denominator merely to satisfy the demands of an increasingly self-indulgent society. The status of marriage has been significantly undermined in the past decade, eg, in over one-third of births in Ireland the child’s parents are not married.

But proponents of traditional family values can hardly look to the current government with any optimism. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s own unfortunate marital situation has been widely publicised, mainly by his own actions, including the decision to bring his then partner as his official consort on government trips abroad.