Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer first to the Cabinet committee on the children's rights referendum on which a few questions need to be addressed. It is sad that in the aftermath of the very significant High Court ruling on the information leaflets the Government circulated in the course of the campaign, that we only had an opportunity earlier today to address this matter when Deputy Troy questioned the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, on the matter. As it is something about which the public is concerned, I ask the Taoiseach to give us some information on the workings and meetings of the Cabinet committee on the children's rights referendum.

Did that committee approve the wording of the material that appeared on the website and was circulated in the leaflets that were distributed across the country? With the benefit of hindsight, is the Taoiseach satisfied that the very strong similarity between the party-political leaflets that Fine Gael and the Labour Party produced was reflected in the material that was produced by Government, which in itself is clearly contrary to the terms of the McKenna judgment? Does the Taoiseach accept that because all parties in this House were in support of the amendment the Government was complacent in its approach to the referendum? When I had the opportunity to speak here on the Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill, I said it was incumbent on all of us to go out, be enthusiastic and positive, and explain the merits of this proposed amendment to the public. While we welcome that the referendum was won, we were all disappointed that the level of participation was far less than most of us, including, I am sure, the Taoiseach, would have liked.

I ask the Taoiseach to outline the workings of the Cabinet committee on the children's rights referendum. Can the Taoiseach finally give us information on the role of the Attorney General regarding the wording used? In the aftermath of the ruling, leaks from the Government indicated that some people were seeking to lay the blame for the difficulties in which the Government finds itself at the door of the Attorney General. Would the Taoiseach care to exonerate the Attorney General from any involvement in this process? Did she see the wording?

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