Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have to come back in regarding the point of consultation. I have great respect for Deputy Chambers but I disagree totally with the point he made. There are a few aspects that are very important. The first is that we should have consultation on any change. The reason is very simple. This country is littered with examples where we have passed legislation without properly thinking through the implications and have lived to regret it. Deputy Chambers and the rest of this committee engaged in a process when we made a decision and through greater consultation, other parties have reversed that decision today on another Stage of the Bill.

People can argue for and against consultation and they can argue the merits of it one way or the other. My view on it is simple. If we have a change that is substantial, we should engage in consultation. I believe the committee would be better off to have that as a guiding principle. If we were making a change in another way and we excluded the notion of consultation with parents, people would be horrified at the idea. There is no real loss in simply talking to everyone involved about a change such as this. I am not arguing for a delay. My understanding of this discussion is that everyone here is effectively supportive of this measure and wants to see it proceed. Everyone is in agreement to try to make it work. Indeed, the Government has an even more substantive proposal. I do not believe there is anything greatly wrong in saying that a process of consultation would have benefited everyone involved.