Madam, - The Minister for Justice claims that equality for gay and lesbian couples wishing to marry can be achieved through a civil partnership scheme.
What strange notions of "equality" he has! Full equality for all couples, heterosexual and homosexual, can only come if the institution of civil marriage is extended to everyone. The Government's own Colley Report, commissioned in 2006 to examine partnership options, concluded as much.
Equality cannot be achieved by any other means - civil unions, partnerships or any other mechanism less than marriage - and I would ask Mr Lenihan to, at the very least, acknowledge that this is the case.
For that reason a new initiative - MarriagEquality - is being established to promote access to civil marriage for all.
The Minister says he understands the argument in favour of civil marriage for same-sex couples but is unable to act because of the Constitution. MarriagEquality, however, shares the opinion of some of the finest constitutional lawyers in the country who see no constitutional impediment to providing marriage equality in Ireland.
The Constitution is a living document that has been changed many times to reflect the changing needs of Irish society. Nowhere does it state that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
Moreover, there are many same-sex couples living in Ireland who have already been married in other countries, some of whom are raising children in loving and safe families.
Same-sex marriage is already a reality in Ireland, but there is a need for legislators and the courts to catch up. MarriagEquality looks forward to engaging with the Minister in the coming months, but would first ask for some honesty from him in stating that anything less than marriage will contradict the Government's own commitment to full equality for all Irish people. - Yours, etc,
GRÁINNE HEALY, Co-Chair, MarriagEquality, c/o 1 Hogan Avenue, Dublin 2.