Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My amendment which was in the same spirit as Deputy Donnelly's was also ruled out of order. Deputy Donnelly's amendment was very good in that it thought outside the box. This issue should not be dealt with through legal aid in the way it might be perceived from listening to the Joe Duffy show or something like it. It is not the same. My amendment was ruled out of order because it involved a potential charge on the Exchequer. It indicated that there should be no doubt about costs and that a worry about costs should not be a barrier or perceived as such for women in coming before the tribunal. Neither Deputy Donnelly, anybody else on this side of the House nor I can propose an amendment that would involve a cost on the State. I am not too hung up on how he does it, but an amendment must be introduced by the Minister to bring certainty to this issue. We spoke about how anything that might be perceived as a barrier to women in going before the tribunal in the first place would be a negative. The current wording is negative and should be revised. I would like the Minister to bring forward an amendment to deal with this issue.