Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending, for their opening statements and for the briefing documents they have provided. There is an awful lot in this. Having heard from all of the witnesses, I believe there are parts of it to be welcomed. Of course, the overall review and the legislation itself are to be welcomed but there are concerns. There is also an overwhelming desire to get this right, which is where we all meet.

On adding a tenth ground, we had a briefing with departmental officials last week and they advised us that this was undergoing an SME test at the moment and that proposals in that regard would go to Government in early autumn. It is important to state that because almost all of the opening statements mentioned the issue. That is where that is. It is a really important amendment to the legislation and I hope we will see those proposals when we return from the summer recess.

The comments made in the IHREC opening statement were probably the starkest as regards the legislation as presented in the general scheme being too narrow and disappointing and needing to be more ambitious. What are the commission's most serious concerns about the general scheme? There is an awful lot in it but what are the top two or three concerns that we can seek to prioritise in the report we will be putting together, because we will have to be concise in that?

My question for Ms Bailey relates to the definition of family status. Will she speak a little more about the importance of it?

Ms Hartney said she regrets that the draft legislation does not propose to narrow or remove some of the broad exemptions contained within the Equal Status Act. Will she develop the point further with regard to what it actually means in reality on the ground and what it would mean?