David Norris (Independent)

I regret that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been driven into retreat but I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

This is a matter of the freedom of speech. One of the principal motivators of artists over the years has been pour épater les bourgeois, to shock the middle classes. That is a very worthy aim. On introducing the amendment referred to by Senator Mullen, I completely oppose that, not that I am an atheist or a militantly aggressive secularist but because I am very familiar with God. He is a nice old Jewish gentleman with a long, white beard. I frequently converse with him and I find our conversations extraordinarily interesting. In view of his extreme age, however, I would be concerned that he might be the victim of friendly fire if there was an outbreak of bible throwing between different religious sects. Who knows what might happen? I am concerned for the preservation of the welfare of this elderly gentleman.