Fine Gael have pledged to remove the marriage penalty from the Social Welfare code which is 
up to €66 per week.
In their manifesto published today, the party says that the tax and social welfare system “should not discourage people from getting married”.
However, the manifesto points out: “Currently, our social welfare system does. Two single people who are on social welfare lose substantial benefits if they marry.”
The party says that addressing the marriage penalty in the social welfare code would be very expensive if done immediately “but when social welfare rates start to increase again, a Fine Gael Government will steadily remove the penalty”
According to ‘Families in Ireland’, a document produced on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs in 2008, if two single people on social welfare were to marry, they would lose €66.50 by marrying or living together. This is generally known as a ‘marriage penalty’.
The manifesto pledges to reform the One Parent Family Payment, which lone parents lose if they marry, over time. It promises that Fine Gael will transform the payment “into a family income-based payment that does not discourage marriage or work”.
The manifesto also commits Fine Gael to refrain from cutting the ‘Home Carers Tax Credit’, which was introduced by Fianna Fáil in 1999 to ameliorate the effects of its tax individualisation policy, although it did this to only a very small extent,
However, the manifesto does not commit the party to further easing the impact of tax individualisation on single income couples.
In response to recent questions from the Irish Catholic newspaper, Fine Gael committed itself to improving the lot of single income couples should the Government’s financial position improve.
More broadly, the manifesto says that “Fine Gael recognises the value of the family based on the institution of marriage”.
According to the document, Fine Gael are also committed to “legislate to regulate Assisted Human Reproduction services”.
Currently, such services are unregulated. Proposals by the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, published in 2005, would allow for the use of sperm and egg donors by same-sex couples and unmarried couples or single people generally.
Fine Gael have said they would not favour a referendum to change the Constitutional definition of marriage. In response to questions from The Irish Catholic, the party said it favoured retaining the current position on marriage.
On denominational schools, Fine Gael told the Irish Catholic that they support the right of such schools to exist. However, they were unclear as to whether denominational schools should retain the right to set their own admissions policies. They also refused to state their position on retaining Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, which allows schools to protect their ethos in respect of who they hire.
Fine Gael also told the paper that it supports the right of faith-based organisations to receive State-funding without compromising their ethos.
The party’s manifesto also says that one of its priorities is to “ensure children’s rights are strengthened through a Constitutional referendum”.
On education, it says that the current situation with over 90 per cent of primary schools under Church patronage is “not reflective of the needs of a modern Irish school system”.
The party will hold a National Forum on Education “to allow all stakeholders, including parents to engage in an open debate on a change of patronage in communities where it is appropriate and necessary,” the manifesto says.
It adds that, in government, Fine Gael “will encourage schools to develop anti-bullying policies and in particular, strategies to combat homophobic bullying to support students”.