Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I must conclude but I want to record that it is not necessary to stick into every offence for which we legislate, just because the Supreme Court laid down that particular judgment in regard to one section of the 1935 Act, that there should be an explicit defence of mistaken belief. On principles of constitutional construction, an Act is construed in accordance with the presumption that it is constitutional and if there are two ways of construing it, the constitutional construction is preferred. I will deal with the other matters raised on Committee Stage. I do not want to ignore them, nor do I want to be disorderly.

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