Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have one or two other points to make in response to the points that were raised.

What I have just said is a key point, because if we combine that and see the provisions that are there in terms of the range of factors that need to be taken into account when deciding on the best interests of the child, clearly they would be very helpful in terms of making decisions on access and custody. That is the point about the best interests provision. The Deputy would be very familiar with the fact that on occasion, repeals of entire Acts have resulted in inadvertent deletion of provisions it was intended to retain. Clearly, a factor in preparing for this legislation was that the 1964 Act, as everybody on this committee knows, is embedded in Irish law and is in daily use in the courts. While preparing this Bill, we decided this was the way to go at this point, given a whole range of considerations.