http://www.irishcentral.com/topics/Civil+Partnership+legislation IrishCentral Civil Partnership legislation en-us http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/manhattan_diary/irish-government-passes-civil-partnership--legislation-for-same-sex-couples-97635974.html http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/manhattan_diary/irish-government-passes-civil-partnership--legislation-for-same-sex-couples-97635974.html Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:50:10 PDT In a move that Irish Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern described as “one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation to come before us since independence," the legislation to recognize in law the civil partnership of Irish same-sex couples passed all stages in the Dail (Irish Parliament) last nightThere was sustained applause from the visitors gallery after the Civil Partnership Bill was passed without a vote Minister Ahern said that all parties had united behind the Bill and this made it a “clear and powerful statement that gay people will never again have their status or relationships ignored”The Minister stressed that “in advancing this Bill we take from no one READ MORE ]]>