Dublin City Council has voted 38-4 to allow same-sex civil marriage there. A press release by Marriage Equality stated two motions in support of marriage equality were put forward by councilors from Labour and Sinn Féin and passed at last night’s council meeting, having been considered jointly. Dublin City Council joins Cork City Council and Belfast City Council, who passed similar motions in June, as well as Omagh, Down, Moyle and Magherafelt District Councils who passed motions during the summer months.
“This is a wonderful step by Dublin City Council to raise awareness of this important issue at a local level. We’d like to thank the councilors from both Labour and Sinn Féin for their initiative, and our supporters in Dublin who spoke to their councilors over the last few months about raising the issue,” said Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith. “Marriage equality is not just a national issue, it’s a local one. It’s about respecting and protecting loving couples and families who are part of our communities and treating them as equal. That is why putting the issue on the agenda at local level is so important.”
In June, Cork City Council became the first local authority in the Republic to openly support marriage equality when a motion, put forward by Sinn Féin councilor Michael Nugent, was passed unanimously. Local authorities across Ireland are resuming their sessions this month. During the summer, councilors from city and county councils around Ireland were in contact with Marriage Equality about plans to bring their own motions of support forward in the coming months.
“We are delighted at the response we’ve received from councils around the country,” added Griffith. “In the coming weeks, we look forward to seeing a dramatic rise in the number of local authorities voicing their support for marriage equality, and sending a powerful message from their communities to the government that same-sex couples, our families and our children deserve equality. With 73 percent popular support, including TDs, government ministers and local authorities, the time for marriage equality is now.”
