Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have said previously in the debate that I believe the will of the people should be implemented. There were lots of issues in the debate. Many people had various issues and a lot of discussions and points were brought up. I have to say the Irish people were extremely well educated as to what exactly they were voting on. Yes, they were voting on an amendment to the Constitution but they were also voting on that amendment in the knowledge that, by and large, Members of the Dáil had said if the referendum was passed the draft legislation put before them would be the basis for the change the people made. As this was part of it we would be rightly accused of not doing what was put before the people and what the people agreed to.

It is true, as Deputy Coppinger said, that not everyone might have supported this bit or that bit of the Bill but not everyone who voted "Yes" supported all aspects of it. By the way, not everyone who voted "No" was opposed to every aspect of the Bill put forward either. It was a very nuanced decision by the people and, ultimately, a compromise was put before the people and debated. Overwhelmingly, whether I or others like it or not, the public voted for it. It is incumbent on us at this juncture, with the first legislation introduced after the referendum was passed, to execute faithfully what we can discern to be the will of the people as expressed in the referendum. It is a political will rather than simply the straightforward legal will of the people, which was to amend the Constitution. The political will of the people was certainly evidenced by their listening to and taking part in the debates. As someone who spoke on the media during the referendum I have to say our broadcast and written media did a fantastic job. I had no complaints whatsoever. Certainly, the public was able to discern the information available and make the decision. This is the decision the people took and we are bound by it.

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