Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on what is an important and historic debate in the Chamber. If the referendum is passed later this year it will be a momentous achievement of which I will be proud to be a part. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, said: "This is not a Bill about 'gay marriage', it is about 'equal marriage'. It is not about weakening one of the strongest institutions in society, it is about strengthening it by making it inclusive and for everyone." The idea that my friends, work colleagues, neighbours, people I know or family members who we do not always know are gay might not have the same rights as me is ludicrous. The idea that someone is treated differently because he or she is gay is ludicrous.

This year, every citizen in Ireland over 18 years of age will have the opportunity to change that, and I urge people to exercise their right to vote and to vote "Yes" in the upcoming referendum. Times are changing and I have been privileged in the past two weeks to speak on two Bills which have come before the Dáil, namely, the Gender Recognition Bill and the Children and Family Relationships Bill. Both Bills are reforming and show that as a people and society we are changing. While I understand that some people do not like change, and are often afraid of it and what it might mean, the only change the referendum will bring about is that we will be a more equal society, and surely that is something we should welcome.

As has been mentioned, in the Ireland of 100 years ago, women could not vote. Some 40 or 50 years ago in Ireland a woman's place was in the home and when women got married they had to give up their jobs. As recently as 20 years ago in Ireland, people could not divorce, if a person took his or her life, he or she was seen as a criminal, and contraception was not readily available. As someone living in the here and now, all of this seems ludicrous, but back then it did not. We are not living back then; we are living in the here and now. Right now every person in this country is not being treated equally and I want to live in a country and world where people are treated equally. To me, marriage is about two people who love each other and want to commit to each other, irrespective of their gender, and this Bill and Government shows leadership and shows the rest of the world that we treat our citizens as equals and respect each other. While we recognise that we are different, as individuals, we all want to be treated with the same respect, and so we should be.

I was very disappointed by the remarks that were made over the weekend against those advocating for a "Yes" vote. Those who are opposed to marriage equality need to take a step back and consider how they would feel if one of their children, family members, brothers, sisters or best friends told them they were gay. Would they see him or her as less of a person because he or she was gay?

I am 28 years of age and in a committed relationship. If the next step is marriage and it is what we both want, then that option is available to us. However, it is not available to everybody. While we have civil marriage, it is not defined in the Constitution and this is something we need to change. We face a challenge in the referendum this year. Voter turnout might be an issue. The children's referendum took place only a few years ago and I understand turnout was as low as 32%. Sometimes when people feel something has nothing to do with them they take a step back. I ask people to think about what they would do and how they would feel if this affected their friend or family member and whether they would treat them any differently.

We are sending an extremely positive message to our young people, namely, that marriage is about two people who love each other. I would be proud to live a country that allows that to happen, irrespective of gender.

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