Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has made his position very clear. Why do we have to go down the road of retrospection in regard to these issues? The Minister of State said people must go to the courts, but this could involve suspension and result in people being out of work for a period. It could cause a lot of hardship for people who have committed themselves not just to the Good Friday Agreement but also to their work, where they may have been working for many years. There are people who are exceptional and who should be counted as exceptional, and we should provide for that. It is wrong to say we can ignore an international agreement that has been put in place and not cater for the people who are under that international agreement. It is wrong. I believe a mechanism could be found to deal with this. It is not good enough for a person to have to go to the court to fight his or her corner. I will press the amendment.