Ireland could soon be ready for UK-style civil partnerships, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said tonight.
Mr Ahern launched a report from the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution which recommended changing the law to ensure same-sex couples have succession, maintenance and taxation rights.
The all-party body advised against changing the Constitution's definition of the family but proposed legislation for civil partnerships for both co-habiting homosexuals and heterosexuals.
Speaking about recently-enacted UK legislation on civil partnerships, Mr Ahern said: "There are lots of models around in terms of other legislation. What we will do now is get working on that.
"What the Committee on the Constitution recommends is that I think we're advanced enough now to get into this area and take it forward."
Mr Ahern insisted that the traditional definition in the Constitution of the family based on marriage had been very beneficial in promoting social stability in society.
"Many believe that to dilute the protection given to the family based on marriage would be to jeopardise the common good," he added.
He noted that the Minster for Justice Michael McDowell had set up a working group to prepare an options paper on civil partnership.
"Faced with the practical problem of accommodating so many diverging opinions, the committee has come up with a practical solution.
"They have not attempted to provide maximum satisfaction to one particular group over another. They have presented the logic and passion of the wide range of interest groups involved in family affairs so that we too can weigh up the arguments for careful consideration," Mr Ahern said.
Earlier, the Gay & Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) said not changing the definition of the family in the Constitution would create a divide in society between families.
Unmarried parents group, Treoir said it was bitterly disappointed with the committee's report as it did not contain a specific declaration on the rights of children.
But Mr Ahern noted that the 2001 Children's Act, the Ombudsman for Children and Minister of State with reposnsibility for Children Brian Lenihan's increased powers in this area. Social & Family Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan is also reviewing support for single-parent families, he said.
Committee vice-chairman Fine Gael senator Michael Finucane called for immediate civil partnerships for co-habiting heterosexual couples.
Unmarried couples in long-term relationships have no rights in the areas of tax, inheritance, next of kin status and many other areas that married couples take for granted, he said.
Mr Ahern has already ruled out a referendum to change the Constitution to legalise gay marriage saying it would not be passed by voters.
He said the Government was prepared to change legislation to ensure that gay couples could inherit property and pension rights from each other and qualify for tax entitlements enjoyed by married people.
The chief executive of the Equality Authority, Niall Crowley, added his voice to the debate claiming that failings in Ireland 's laws must be rectified to ensure gays, lesbians and transsexuals have the same rights they would in Northern Ireland .
PA