Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting me to attend today's meeting. I also thank everyone for the amendments they have tabled. Whether I agree with them or not, I appreciate the thought and care they have put into their amendments.

I do not have an opening statement as such. I have spoken extensively in the Dáil about my Bill so all of the Members are aware of the purpose of my legislation. The purpose, in my view, is simply to reduce the timeframe for when somebody can apply for a divorce to two years out of the preceding three years instead of four years out of the preceding five years. I advocate that we leave the other conditions of divorce, such as proper provision and no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, in the Constitution.

Last year I was elected a Deputy after having worked for 20 years in family law. In fact, I qualified in 1997, which is the year that divorce was put on the Statute Book. The legislation and I have been on a journey together. When I first arrived here I thought about what I could bring to Dáil Éireann in terms of the knowledge and experience that I had gleaned in the area of family law, and specifically separation and divorce. It is important for me to say that.

I have endeavoured to strike a balance in my Private Members' Bill between what is a fair and reasonable proposal and what can be achieved by referendum. We can lose sight of our goals when we are overly ambitious. I appreciate that amendments may be tabled that propose to take this provision out of the Constitution. I am not sure about that but I am open to listening to discussions on the matter. I know that the Minister of State will have his own views and views from the Government's perspective in terms of Report Stage.

I have looked at all of the research that is available in all of the other jurisdictions. I went into great detail in the Dáil about the time limit of two years that exists in other jurisdictions. I am not sure that the Irish people are completely ready for this provision to be taken out of the Constitution. We are Irish and the institution of marriage is ingrained in our society. Over three decades ago Garret FitzGerald tried to introduce divorce in 1986 but the referendum was not passed. John Bruton introduced divorce legislation 20 years ago and the legislation passed but only by a whisker. I have passed around my editorial from the Irish Journal of Family Law, which goes into this matter in more detail.

Thousands of people have gone through separation or divorce. I am not separated myself. As I said in my speech in the Dáil, I believe I have been happily married for 15 years but I have first-hand experience from dealing with clients who have gone through the process. The one thing that I have heard in the Oireachtas is that there is a wish to get this legislation over the line by referendum. If I succeed then I will feel that I have helped many thousands of people.

Divorce affects families and children, in particular. My Private Members' Bill strikes the correct balance to gain cross-party support and the support of the general public. The Iona Institute, for example, holds certain views about divorce but it agrees with my Bill. I am happy to answer questions and I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State and other contributors have to say. Again, I thank the Chairman and the committee for the invitation to attend.