James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and congratulate him on being appointed to his new portfolio.

Since this Government came to power in March 2011, we have shown a clear desire and commitment towards constitutional reform. Indeed, the Government has already instigated a considerable amount of such reform. Since our first two referenda in October 2011, we have now held a total of six referenda. They have all tried to address a number of topics in Irish society from judges' remuneration to the children's referendum.

I welcomed the establishment of the Constitutional Convention as it was a new means of examining constitutional reform, while at the same time providing a direct voice for the citizens of Ireland. I was present at the convention's first meeting in December 2012. The membership was made up of 66 randomly selected citizens, 33 politicians from both Houses of the Oireachtas and members of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The convention produced nine reports in total, all of which have been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I was honoured to have been appointed and to have been involved in a wide range of discussions. I am pleased to have played my own part in contributing to the debate on constitutional reform. We have recently seen the publication of the Government's priorities going forward to 2016, which clearly reaffirm this Government's commitment to bringing forward legislative reform for the remaining reports of the Constitutional Convention. I will be pressing the Government to ensure that these commitments are upheld.

With regard to the sixth report, we had impressive speakers and expert presentations on the issue of removing blasphemy from the Constitution. Many pointed out the constitutional position, the current statutory position and the historical background to defining blasphemy in Ireland. We also had a large amount of people asking what was the proper role of government.

Throughout my time in public life, I have always believed the proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not equal things. We are all born equal, not in abilities or talents but equal under the law and equal in our rights. We need honest and fair government to secure those rights.

As regards such rights, the Constitution continues to prohibit the publication of blasphemous material. The Defamation Act 2009 makes it clear what is meant by this, namely, material which is grossly abusive or insulting on religious grounds. The law is thus aimed at protecting individuals from offence. It is my belief, therefore, that the Constitution is aimed at protecting individuals from offence. The exclusion on blasphemy serves to safeguard the right of believers from offence. It protects the rights of citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions, and their duty to honour religion. I strongly believe the constitutional provision on blasphemy should be retained in the Constitution. This is my personal belief and always has been.

I wish to pay tribute to the chairman of the Constitutional Convention, Mr. Tom Arnold, and all his staff for the very fine job they have done. Mr. Arnold was an exceptionally good chairperson who encouraged debate and motivated people throughout all the sessions that were held. He proved himself to be a person of great ability and integrity. He got fine speakers and everyone's opinion was listened to at the convention. Mr. Arnold would make a great leader of any political party in this land.

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