Some great news for the LGBT community this morning as the Tánaiste has announced that the topic of gay marriage will be put on the agenda for the upcoming Constitutional Convention. It’s about time, isn’t it?

The Irish Daily Star reports that the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, said that the “time has come” for the issue of gay marriage to be addressed by the Government, and here at Her.ie Headquarters we couldn’t agree more.

In a statement, Mr Gilmore said that he did not believe “that it should ever be the role of the State to pass judgement on whom a person falls in love with, or whom they want to spend their life with.”

“I believe in gay marriage. The right of gay couples to marry is, quite simply, the civil rights issue of this generation and, in my opinion, its time has come,” he added.

Naturally enough, Mr Gilmore’s comments have been welcomed with open arms by marriage equality and gay rights groups across the country.

“He is the first Government minister to publicly add his voice to the 73 per cent of Irish people who believe that same sex couples, our families and our children deserve equality,” said Moninne Griffith, the Director of Marriage Equality.

Ms Griffith’s praises of the Tánaiste were also echoed by Kieran Rose of GLEN (the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network) who said that Mr Gilmore was right when said that our laws do not mimic the public’s opinion on marriage equality.

The fact that the Tánaiste has stood up and fully backed marriage equality is a bright symbol about the changes that are currently taking place within the Irish political system.

We’re overjoyed to see his comments coming directly after a weekend that saw rainbows take over the streets of Dublin and the LGBT community (and their many supporters!) marching proudly together.