Editing Republic of Ireland (section)

===Society===
{{See also|Abortion in the Republic of Ireland|LGBT rights in the Republic of Ireland}}
Ireland [[Global Gender Gap Report|ranks fifth]] in the world in terms of [[gender equality]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Iceland 'best country for gender equality'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11517459|access-date=12 October 2010|publisher=BBC News|date=12 October 2010|archive-date=12 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012045420/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11517459|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, Ireland was ranked the most [[Charity (practice)|charitable]] country in Europe, and second most charitable in the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ireland 'most charitable' country in Europe|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1220/310115-charity/|access-date=20 December 2010|publisher=RTÉ News|date=20 December 2010|archive-date=5 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205204543/http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1220/310115-charity/|url-status=live}}</ref> Contraception was controlled in Ireland until 1979, however, the receding influence of the [[Catholic Church in Ireland|Catholic Church]] has led to an increasingly [[Secularism|secularised]] society.<ref>{{cite ISB|name=Health (Family Planning) Act 1979|date=23 July 1979|year=1979|number=20|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918111313/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1979/act/20/enacted/en/html|url-status=live}}</ref> A constitutional ban on [[divorce]] was lifted following a [[Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|referendum]] in 1995. Divorce rates in Ireland are very low compared to European Union averages (0.7 divorced people per 1,000 population in 2011) while the marriage rate in Ireland is slightly above the European Union average (4.6 marriages per 1,000 population per year in 2012). [[Abortion in the Republic of Ireland|Abortion]] had been banned throughout the period of the Irish state, first through provisions of the [[Offences Against the Person Act 1861]] and later by the [[Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013]]. The right to life of the unborn was protected in the constitution by the [[Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Eighth Amendment]] in 1983; this provision was removed following a [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|referendum]], and replaced it with a provision allowing legislation to regulate the termination of pregnancy. The [[Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018]] passed later that year provided for abortion generally during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in specified circumstances after that date.<ref>{{cite ISB|name=[[Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018]]|date=20 December 2018|year=2018|number=31|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=21 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121050905/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/act/31/enacted/en/html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Capital punishment]] is constitutionally banned in Ireland, while discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, religion, race or membership of the travelling community is illegal. The legislation which outlawed homosexual acts was repealed in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|title = NORRIS v. IRELAND – 10581/83 [1988] ECHR 22|date = 26 October 2007|publisher = European Court of Human Rights|url = http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1988/22.html|access-date = 7 June 2007|archive-date = 15 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151015234525/http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1988/22.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>Senator [[David Norris (politician)|David Norris]] successfully challenged the law in the [[European Court of Human Rights]] in 1988, but Irish Government did not introduce and pass legislation to rectify the issue until 1993.</ref> The [[Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010]] permitted civil partnerships between same-sex couples.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10484404 |title=Civil partnership bill backed by Irish politicians |publisher=BBC News |date=1 July 2010 |access-date=11 July 2010 |archive-date=2 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202104003/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10484404 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Carl |last1=O'Brien |title='Historic advance' for equality as Civil Partnership Bill passed |newspaper=The Irish Times |place=Dublin, Ireland |date=2 July 2010 |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2010/act/24/enacted/en/html|title=Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010|date=19 July 2010|access-date=28 September 2019|website=[[Irish Statute Book]]|archive-date=28 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928094542/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2010/act/24/enacted/en/html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Children and Family Relationships Act 2015]] allowed for adoption rights for couples other than married couples, including civil partners and cohabitants, and provided for [[Third-party reproduction|donor-assisted human reproduction]]; however, significant sections of the Act have yet to be [[coming into force|commenced]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/act/9/enacted/en/html|title=Children and Family Relationships Act 2015|date=6 April 2015|access-date=28 September 2019|website=[[Irish Statute Book]]|archive-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523155602/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2015/en/act/pub/0009/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Following a [[Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|referendum]] held on 23 May 2015, Ireland became the eighteenth country to [[Marriage Act 2015|provide in law]] for [[same-sex marriage]], and the first to do so by popular vote.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/marriage-referendum/ireland-becomes-first-country-to-approve-same-sex-marriage-by-popular-vote-1.2223646 |newspaper= The Irish Times |title= Ireland becomes first country to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote |date= 23 May 2015 |access-date= 23 May 2015 |archive-date= 23 July 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150723091725/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/marriage-referendum/ireland-becomes-first-country-to-approve-same-sex-marriage-by-popular-vote-1.2223646 |url-status= live }}</ref>

Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for [[plastic shopping bag]]s in 2002 and a public [[smoking ban]] in 2004. [[Recycling in Ireland]] is carried out extensively, and Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the [[European Union]]. It was the first country in Europe to ban [[Banning of incandescent lightbulbs|incandescent lightbulbs]] in 2008 and the first EU country to ban in-store tobacco advertising and product display in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1010/109039-energy/ |title=Traditional light bulbs to be scrapped |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=10 October 2008 |access-date=9 July 2009 |archive-date=22 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022025444/http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1010/109039-energy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0630/119005-tobacco/ |title=Ban on in-store tobacco advertising |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=30 June 2009 |access-date=9 July 2009 |archive-date=22 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022030145/http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0630/119005-tobacco/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, Ireland became the second country in the world to introduce [[plain cigarette packaging]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/plain-packaging-for-cigarettes-signed-into-law-in-ireland-1.2134138|title=Plain packaging for cigarettes signed into law in Ireland|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=10 March 2015|first=Mark|last=Hilliard|access-date=13 March 2015|archive-date=1 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701072609/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/plain-packaging-for-cigarettes-signed-into-law-in-ireland-1.2134138|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the above measures to discourage tobacco use, smoking rates in Ireland remain at approximately 15.4% as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Smoking Prevalence Tracker 2020 Info – Graph|url=https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/tobaccocontrol/research/smoking-in-ireland-2020.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=28 May 2021|website=[[Health Service Executive]]|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306000019/https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/tobaccocontrol/research/smoking-in-ireland-2020.pdf}}</ref>