Deadline on NI gay marriage pushed back until new year

REVISED proposals have been agreed to ensure that MP-backed moves in Britain to allow same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland can be introduced.

The House of Lords heard the aim of the amendments was to ‘improve and extend the drafting’ of the changes to legislation overwhelmingly approved by the Commons, which had ‘technical problems’.

However, it means same-sex marriage will not come into force until the new year, to allow for the necessary changes to be introduced.

The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill seeks to again push back reintroducing a law placing a legal duty on Northern Secretary Karen Bradley to call a fresh Assembly election.

This was designed to give the Stormont parties more time to restore the powersharing executive, twoand-a-half years after it collapsed.

However, during consideration in the Commons, MPs agreed a series of changes to the legislation, including liberalising access to abortion as well as same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage is illegal in Northern Ireland, while abortions are only allowed in cases where a woman’s life is at risk or if there is a danger of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.

Introducing the revised amendment, Tory peer Lord Hayward said: ‘This will ensure that all couples in Northern Ireland irrespective of their sexual orientation will have equal rights to enter the form of relationship of their choice.’

Under Lord Hayward’s amendment the regulations would not come into force until January 13, 2020, instead of October 21.

However, the DUP took issue with the wording around religious safeguards, with the Bill stating the Secretary of State ‘may’ make regulations when it came to protections.

The party’s peers proposed this was changed to ‘must’. DUP peer Lord Morrow said: ‘We must make sure the religious liberties of Northern Ireland are definitely protected.’

Lord Hayward’s amendment was approved by peers without a vote.