Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. It has been hanging around for more than a year and it is great to see the members of GLEN and various LGBT organisations. There is an active LGBT group within Fine Gael under the stewardship of our colleague, Deputy Jerry Buttimer, which is doing great work. Section 37 of the 1998 Act should never have been introduced in the first place. Who were the legislators at the time trying to appease? This legislation will clean up the appalling vista created by that section. I agree with most of Senator Power's contribution but I would like there to be unanimity on the Bill if it can be achieved. As acting leader, i will not push for Committee Stage to be completed today. It should continue next week and between that and Report Stage I hope that we can have conversations with Senators Zappone, Norris, Power and others and if the wording of the Bill is ambiguous, that can be clarified. Where it is appropriate to strengthen the wording, we should all agree that this should happen. When the legislation is passed, it will be powerful. It is not acceptable in a modern society that people could turn up in a classroom on a Monday morning unable to discuss the weekend out of fear. If section 37 is the reason for this, it needs to be addressed and that is why the legislation has been introduced. It is a pity that it has taken 12 months for Committee Stage to be taken but, hopefully, we will over the coming days be given a much clearer timeline regarding the passage and enactment of the Bill.

Senator Zappone's amendments are interesting and the case behind them is well made. I am sure the Minister will respond accordingly and I hope there will be a meeting of minds in this regard. The Chamber is supposed to foster and facilitate even more analysis of legislation than the Lower House and I hope we can reach a consensus on this because that would send a much clearer message from the Oireachtas on this issue about how far we have come as a society.