Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their kind remarks. I assure Senator O'Donovan that I am always conscious of those Senators and Deputies who live as far from Dublin as he does. Although I live 50 miles from Leinster House, door to door, I have been lucky enough to get home after virtually every Dáil sitting throughout my 24 years in the Oireachtas. I did this as part of my commitment to my family. I am not sure I would have stayed in politics for as long as I have if, like the Senator, I had been unable to get home as regularly as I have been able to. One often hears about the work-life balance. Throughout my political career we have spoken about the work-life balance in the general population. It applies equally to Members of the Oireachtas. That is probably one of the reasons we do not have as many female Members of the Oireachtas as we would like. I do not mean this in a sexist way. Political life is very tough on families, particularly for those based long distances from Leinster House. There is a difference between the Senator and me.

As reported in a local newspaper, I fell into politics through my participation in sport rather than by way of family route. I was bitten by the bug of politics during my early 20s. Perhaps that is the difference between us. I am not aware of the year Senator O'Donovan entered politics but I did so in 1979.

This Bill has been one of the most difficult in the area of civil law with which I have had to deal during my time as Minister for Justice and Law Reform. It is a Bill that did not sit easily within the Departments of Justice and Law Reform, Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, in terms of company law, and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Government decided that the Department of Justice and Law Reform should be the sponsoring Department. There is no other legislation in the civil law area, apart perhaps from the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, on which I, with my officials, spent so much time. I thank my officials for their work. I have stated before and do so again that despite some of the bad press the public service receives, during my political career I have been in awe of the people in the public sector who work for us in terms of their commitment, in particular in all the Departments in which I have served. I do not believe they are given enough credit for the fact that they work way above the call of duty on behalf of Ministers and the Oireachtas. From my experience, public servants in the Departments dealing with the political process do not work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. They are available night and day to Ministers. I thank the officials accompanying me today for their work on this extremely complex Bill. I also thank the Oireachtas staff for their work throughout my career and on this Bill which I know caused great difficulty in terms of the substantial number of amendments tabled. The original proposal from the Law Reform Commission, while clearly good, needed amendment.

I thank in particular Senators Regan and Bacik for their work on this Bill. I am not sure I was that unamenable to a good argument. Whoever takes up my position in the future will understand that Ministers are bound, in terms of their attitude in this Chamber and the other House, to take on board the advice of the Attorney General and Parliamentary Counsel.

I am delighted this Bill has completed its passage through the Dáil and Seanad prior to the forthcoming general election. While I do not know when the election will be held, I wish Senators who participate in it and the subsequent Seanad election all the best for the future.