Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not. I thought it was a secret note and that I was in school again.

First, I thank the Minister for being here and I thank the Chairman. The past three days have been a learning curve for me, as someone who has not been long in politics. They have made very clear what can be done when people work together, especially on a committee. This was an example of how committees should be run within the confines of this building and I put that down to the good chairmanship of Deputy Buttimer and to the participation of all the committee members. Sometimes we do not have the opportunity to thank the staff and this is an occasion on which we should thank them for their prompt responses to anything that came in to be read and especially for making sure that we were all on time because we are not always on time.

People have been watching the meetings on television, including members of my family who say I should get my hair dyed. Mrs. Justice McGuinness said there are people who are for and against this legislation and there are the people in the middle, and they are the ones who have been watching us. Young women and mothers have watched this debate because this is a very important issue for all mothers and for all young women. It is a sad reflection on society that it has taken us so long to get to where we are today. Most of all this is an opportunity to build a better society for everybody. I see the past couple of days as the first steps. We are beginning to change many things in politics and legislation. The decision the committee makes over the coming weeks will be an honest and true representation of what we have heard here and how we felt about it. I thank the Chairman for throwing me in at the deep end.