MINISTER OF State for the Office of Public Works Martin Mansergh warned that public facilities should not be closed to gay couples seeking to obtain a civil partnership.

Some proposals, he said, had been made for what would, in effect, amount to discrimination, namely, that offices of the State should be allowed to withhold, or not participate in, civil partnership ceremonies.

“My view is that if one takes up a public appointment, one must carry out the duties that the law prescribes, and those duties will change from time to time as the law changes,’’ said Dr Mansergh.

“We should not give sanction, effectively, to homophobia for conscientious reasons.’’ Dr Mansergh was speaking during the resumed Second Stage debate on the Civil Partnership Bill 2009.

“My belief is that this legislation provides the substance of equality, though the status of marriage is missing.’’

There were two groups of critics of the legislation, he added. Members of the gay and lesbian community complained that it did not confer the status of marriage, while others opposed it because they believed, to all intents and purposes and in substance, that it amounted to marriage.

A constitutional agreement, he said, would be required to introduce same-sex marriage. It was better to take the step contained in the civil partnership legislation now. “If a decision is made by the people at some point in the future, the vast majority of practical questions will have been dealt with in this legislation, such as in the areas of taxation and inheritance,’’ Dr Mansergh added.

Former Fine Gael minister Sean Barrett, who represents Dún Laoghaire, said he had always stated that when introducing legislation one should try to respect the views of all members of society.

“People genuinely hold views that differ from those I might hold, possibly on religious grounds or whatever, and I try at all times to accept this to be a fact.’’

Under the Bill, he said, a registrar who failed or refused to issue a civil partnership form, with reasonable cause, would, on summary conviction, be liable for a fine of up to €2,000 or imprisonment of up to six months.

“While I do not believe this will ever happen, it can cause a great deal of unnecessary upset,’’ said Mr Barrett. “I do not believe that someone who has a genuine religious difficulty with his or her conscience should be imprisoned for six months, and to do so would be quite ridiculous in this day and age.’’

He added that he had heard arguments to the effect that unless such a provision was included, people in hotels would refuse to rent out a room or serve meals.

“However, this is a ridiculous argument because at present gay couples stay in hotels and have meals like anyone else and are quite entitled to do so,’’ said Mr Barrett. “I have never come across an instance of anyone being refused.’’

Labour’s Ciaran Lynch, representing Cork South Central, said the Dáil was short a majority to agree to holding a constitutional referendum allowing for gay marriage.

He added that he could see the merit of the civil partnership legislation for those members of the gay community who could not wait for the time when circumstances changed and they could marry.