Fri 06 Jun 2004FG plan to register cohabiting couplesFine Gael has pledged to introduce in government a civil registration system for cohabiting couples of the same or opposite sex, giving them most of the legal rights now available only to married couples.Such couples would be given the same tax treatment, inheritance and property rights, workplace entitlements and social welfare benefits as married couples, according to Fine Gael's proposal published yesterday by Senator Sheila Terry, the party's equality spokeswoman.