In the course of a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, Justice Donal O'Donnell succinctly explained why the Irish Constitution gives favoured status to marriage. He explained its position in commendably children-centred terms.

Increasingly, marriage is seen as an institution devised for the benefit of adults, but children are the main reason we support it as Justice O'Donnell reminds us.

Here is what he had to say:

"On the contrary, the Articles [on the family] at least in general terms, state propositions that are by no means eccentric, uniquely Irish or necessarily outdated: there is a working assumption that a family with married parents is believed to have been shown by experience to be a desirable location for the upbringing of children; that as such the family created by marriage is an essential unit in society; that accordingly, marriage and family based upon it is to be supported by the State. Consequently the State’s position is one which does not seek to pre-empt the family but rather seeks to supplement its position so that the State will only interfere when a family is not functioning and providing the benefits to its members (and thus the benefits to society) which the Constitution contemplates. In that case, the State may be entitled to intervene in discharge of its own duty under the Constitution and to protect the rights of the individuals involved.”     Iona