Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank her for a very comprehensive overview on this amendment of the Constitution. No constitution is written in stone and it is important that we start from there. This is the 34th amendment of the Constitution. There has been a very small number of amendments when one thinks of the lifetime of this Constitution. As my colleague, Senator Byrne, said, society has changed and we need to adapt. We are doing that by bringing forward this legislation and holding this referendum.

Marriage is a contract and a commitment. If two people of the same sex are prepared to make that commitment, why should we stand in their way and prevent them from making that commitment and from entering into that contract? By voting "No" in this referendum, that is what we will be doing and that is why it is so important we bring about the changes which are required in the Constitution to allow same-sex marriage.

We should not force on others what has been in the Constitution for some time. Why should we now decide we are against a change when that change will not affect us directly? Voting against that change will affect many people who want to enter into that commitment and contract.

There have been changes over the years. At one time we prevented women from sitting on juries and from going back to work in the Civil Service when they got married. When we made that change, it made a difference in the sense that women were able to make a contribution to society and continue in jobs at which they were very good. I came across an example in obstetrics and gynaecology. All the patients were female but because of the marriage ban, only six out of 100 medical consultants were female. We prevented people from continuing to make a contribution by imposing a marriage ban which prevented women returning to work in the Civil Service once they got married.The Minister has already set out quite clearly the countries that have changed, including the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada. Why should we not also have this change? Why should we continue to prevent people from entering into commitments into which they want to enter?

The change we are discussing also has implications from the point of view of taxation, social welfare and succession. However, it will not affect other people who are not involved or who do not want enter into this commitment. We are talking about people who are gay or lesbian who feel they are prevented from living life normally. By introducing this constitutional amendment we will allow them to get on with their lives, as they want to live.

Some of my colleagues have referred to this. We should not take this referendum for granted. We all have a part to play in bringing about this change and we all have a part to play in explaining the change we are proposing. It is important that we encourage people to come out and vote "Yes" in this referendum. It is an important milestone in the history of the State that this change takes place. It is important that the referendum is passed. I fully support the Minister in her work in the area. Before entering government we gave a commitment that we would hold a referendum. We gave a commitment regarding the Convention on the Constitution which then voted overwhelmingly in favour of holding a referendum and bringing about the change in the law and the Constitution. It deserves our support. I welcome the work that has been done and I welcome the result that I hope we will have on 23 May.