Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course I welcome the views of Deputies and Senators. I am pleased to have had an opportunity to engage directly with Deputy Ó Laoghaire and other Members of the Oireachtas. I believe such engagement is very important and I welcome it. I have to say, however, that the series of options which were put were rigorously tested. After legal advice was received, it was clear that each alternative wording carried difficulties of unintended consequences and different interpretations. It seemed quite clear to me that deletion represented the pathway forward with the fewest risks. That is why the Government introduced a proposal to that effect. I have seen other purported reasons being advanced in the media. I have to say that the Government's decision to propose the deletion of the constitutional provision in question was based firmly on the legal advice and the challenges imposed by the insertion of alternative wording.