Gender, familism and housing: Matrimonial property rights in Ireland

This article explores the gender structure of housing rights, and specifica lly matrimonial property law, in the Republic of Ireland as a basis for exa mining the means by which women gain access to and control over economic re sources, or capital. Taking the Family Home Protection Act (1976) and the i ll-fated Matrimonial Home Bill (1993) as examples of legislation to strengt hen women's matrimonial property rights, it is argued that these have been formulated using gendered, familist, categories of reform. The State's atte mpts to strengthen women's entitlements have been mediated by its constitut ional commitment to maintain a preference for the marital family as well as its failure to recognise the economic value of women's unpaid domestic wor k. This article argues that in this context, the Irish State's strategy of gender equality: which is based on the equitable treatment of different hou sehold types, is divisive, ineffective. and inequitable. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.