Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tonight in this Chamber I am reminded of the words of Frances Wright, the great social reformer, who said "equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it". Tonight in this Chamber we debate a constitutional referendum Bill that is not about children, urban versus rural, political parties and Independents against each other, liberals or conservatives or church and State. It is about us as a nation and as citizens and our Constitution. This Bill is about marriage equality but it is not asking our citizens to do anything they do not want to do. It is asking them to vote, hopefully, in favour of the referendum. This Bill is about extending to all of us as citizens the right to marry the person we love. It is about us as equal citizens under our Constitution.

This is the last great civil rights battle of a generation. As many speakers have said, as we approach 2016 and the anniversary of the 1916 Rising, the words of our Proclamation, as have been quoted tonight in this Chamber, ring true - cherishing all of our children equally. We are nearly there but we are not quite there. That is why this referendum is so important. What kind of equal society says, "you're not worthy, you're not equal, you don't deserve true membership"? I contend that we cannot as a nation claim equality if we push our children away from something we value and cherish. This referendum is about the republic we live in: a republic that represents all of its people, all of our citizens no matter who they are. It provides the conditions for all people to prosper, which includes spiritual prosperity. It allows us to love, to hope and to share our dreams. A republic grants equal status to everyone regardless of race, creed, culture, language, social status, family status or sexual orientation.

This Bill and the referendum to follow give us an opportunity reaffirm our republic - the republic. It allows us to recognise the rights of all our citizens. Marriage is a long-regarded institution and because it creates a bond between two people who want to live together in love, it creates stability for those people. It gives them recognition and confidence to be open about their relationships. Many of us have had the privilege of growing up in a household with that love and commitment. I contend that in this referendum, people will enter into different sideshows about family and children but this referendum is about the rights of all of our people. There is no undermining of society, family and existing heterosexual marriage. Where is the undermining in this referendum? There is none because the marriage that my sister or my brother has will not be undermined nor will the marriages of my friends, my parents or other parents I know. It will be the opposite in fact. All that will come from this Bill and the referendum being passed is a mature, outward and forward-looking Ireland that is more caring, gentle and accepting. That is why we are taking another small step tonight on the road to full equality for all our people. It may not seem much to some but for many of us and our friends, it means an awful lot.

I compliment our older generation of citizens, some of whom are unsure about this referendum and marriage equality. They are people across our country over a certain age who have gone through more changes than any previous generation, including families in every county, townlands and rural area, and who have lived with their sons and daughters coming out and in some cases entering into civil partnerships. The overwhelming majority of these older people, parents in many cases, can be proud of how generous and supportive they have been and how they have responded to their loved ones coming out. Those parents are thinking that their love for their children did not disappear when they found out they were gay. It was the contrary. I ask them tonight why they would or should accept their sons and daughters being excluded from something as precious as civil marriage.

Nobody has anything to fear from this Bill and this referendum being passed. We may as a nation have been slow to embrace change but as a people, we have come a long way from the monocultural society we were only a few decades ago to being one that has discarded the relics of the past. We have lanced many of those boils in this Dáil under this Government. Who genuinely believes we are a weaker society for giving equality in law to women, the disabled, the Traveller community and those of different religious or racial backgrounds? We are a stronger nation as a result of those actions and we will be a stronger society in passing this referendum on 22 May. I hope that we as a nation will embrace this referendum - a vote that will allow us to improve the lives of our fellow citizens and take another significant step on the road to that hallowed republic.

I commend the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on her stewardship as Minister.

I am proud to have sat next to her tonight, as I was in 2010 when as leader of the Fine Gael group in the Seanad, she led the debate on civil partnership. She has been a champion for equality in this House tonight and at the Cabinet table. I commend other members of my party, including former Senator Sheila Terry, Brian Hayes, MEP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, and former Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Alan Shatter, for their work in this area in the 1990s and 2000s on behalf of the Fine Gael Party. I also commend the men and women of GLEN, Marriage Equality and LGBT Noise who have worked tirelessly to ensure that this matter is put before the people in a referendum.

For the younger generation who will have an opportunity to vote in this referendum, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to have their voice heard and to make real change. They will be the custodians of a new legacy, one of an Ireland that is inclusive and welcoming. Let us be the first democratic nation to vote "Yes" in favour of marriage equality. I am proud to be a member of this Government and of this House of the Oireachtas. I hope the Irish people, in their hundreds of thousands, will vote in this referendum. This is about the lives of all of us as citizens. It is about the future, a new republic in which we are all cherished under our Constitution as equal citizens.

I commend the Bill to the House and hope that the people will vote "Yes".

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