Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

"Yes" is the answer to those questions. On the idea of the constitutional amendment, we made a decision earlier in the year, in spite of the fact that the draft constitution was defeated in some countries and is in abeyance at this stage. The idea was that the legitimate role of all of the churches and faith communities in public life would be acknowledged and that the participatory principle regarding civil society and recognition of social dialogue in the treaty would make the provisions for dialogue with the churches entirely popular and welcome. The idea was that whatever issues were of concern to any of the churches or faith communities, they would be able to raise these at least annually and on other occasions when they would meet Government and senior civil servants.

There is no doubt about this process, as I know from what has happened already and the changes that are taking place within a number of churches that have been established in this city and other cities. People are beginning to understand the issues raised by the churches. Only good can come of this because people will come to recognise each other's positions. The members of these communities live in this country now. Dialogue will help us to form a common basis from which to move forward. This will give religious leaders and faith communities an opportunity to represent the views of their members in this country. It is a good idea.

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